Precious Person
by HnS-Ryouichi
Summary: He has met those whom he can consider precious. He has met she who can be called his most precious. To what lengths... will Uzumaki Naruto go to, to protect them? Hiatus. [NarutoxOC]
1. Progress

**Author's Note**

Warning, this story has entered temporary hiatus. Why? My beta-reader Genesis DR has reread my story, and believes that what I wrote for Chapter 9 totally kicks every other chapters' ass. Thus, he suggested that I rewrite the other chapters to match the much-higher standards that are in place for Chapter 9. Thus, I have begun rewriting Chapter 2, and I will repost them one at a time until they are all completely done. After that, I will post up Chapter 9. Ohh, this will be hell to rewrite. Wish me luck.

CodeKyuubi - 3/8/07

**Status (Updated: 3/09/07)**

Chapter 01 - Done, uploaded.

Chapter 02 - Done, uploaded.

Chapter 03 - Being rewritten.

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09 - Done, waiting for rewrite of other chapters.


	2. Unfortunate Mishaps

**Precious Person**

Chapter 1: Unfortunate Mishap

"Speech"

'_Thoughts_'

**Sound Effect**

**Benney: **Newly edited version of Chapter 1. Grammar, writing style, and plot holes have been edited.

* * *

**Konohagakure: Hokage Mountain: Sunset**

Uzumaki Naruto sat quietly on top of Yondaime's gigantic stone head, contemplating his life. It was here that he came when he needed a change of scenery. Seven-year-old Naruto looked down at Konoha, and sighed in depression.

'_Why does everyone hate me?__ Why does everyone treat me the way they do? Why am I the only one... like this?_'

The sunset colored the sky a brilliant mixture of red, orange, yellow, and purple. Looking out at the work of nature, he continued to ponder...

* * *

**Kirigakure: Outskirts: Midnight**

Kimi lay in bed, trying to sleep. A loud banging noise downstairs alerted her to a presence, and she moved to check it out. Cautiously walking downstairs, she gasped when she caught sight of a masked intruder, and immediately tried to retreat back up the stairs. Unfortunately, the stranger had spotted her, and instantly closed the distance. Before the unknown stranger could lay a hand on her, she screamed. Lights came on around the house as her family, alerted by her scream, woke up in a panic.

"Kimi! KIMI! Where are you!" yelled her father, his voice drifting from the upstairs hallway.

The intruder slowly pulled out a katana, and was about to end her life when her brother appeared on the scene.

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**!"

The man grunted in annoyance, and threw himself to the side to dodge the attack. Regaining his balance, the assassin set himself into a fighting stance, katana at the ready.

Her brother looked quickly behind, catching sight of Kimi.

"Run! I'll hold him off!" he yelled, before going through hand seals.

Kimi quickly bolted up the stairs. The assassin made to follow her, but had to dodge another dragon. Her brother glared at him, in understanding.

"I don't know what the Mizukage thinks he'll accomplish by killing her, but you'll only reach her over my _dead body_!"

Kimi ran through the hall as fast as she could, tears stinging her eyes.

'_I have to keep running! I have to keep running!_'

She had almost reached her room when she heard a gurgled scream. Pausing at the door, she turned around to see the assassin enter the hallway from the stairs. He was coated in blood; her brother's blood. Eyes wide with fear, she turned and ran into her room, slamming it shut quickly. Turning, she spied her alarmed father and her other brother coming over to her quickly.

"What happened to your brother?" her father asked her. "Why are you here alone?"

"A-A-Assassin," Kimi whispered. 

Her father held her in his arms, and then whispered for her to get to the window and climb out. She looked at her father in confusion.

"Listen to me," he said forcefully. "You must run as far away as you can. Run to Konohagakure no Sato. Find shelter there. We will hold him off while you run. Now GO!"

She followed his orders obediently and climbed out of the window. Feet making contact with the ground, she began running quickly towards the general direction of Konoha. Not long after her escape, she heard yells from her room, which soon silenced with the sound of metal hitting flesh. Scared for her life, she continued to run. She could feel a presence closing in on her position, and she panicked.

'_I don't want to die! I don't want to die!_'

Soon the masked nin caught up to her and disabled her movement with a well-placed shuriken to the leg. Kimi gasped in pain as she crumpled to the ground. She was scared, very scared.

"Someone… please help me…" she whispered to herself.

'**Kukuku. If you don't want to die, then I'll lend you my help…**'

"Who…who are you?" she said to no one in particular. The assassin stopped, wondering what made the girl talk so suddenly. He did not answer the question, and instead continued to close in.

'**I am the Rokubi no Raijuu. Now… allow me...**'

Kimi suddenly started losing control of her body. She tried to fight it but did not have the will to resist. Meanwhile, the assassin gazed pitifully at the shaking child. '_She may be a jinchuuriki... but why the need for assassination?_' Throwing away his doubts, he steeled himself to strike.

"S-Stop. What are you doing?" Kimi yelled hoarsely.

'**Think of this as a gift from me to you, kukuku…**'

The assassin wondered why she was talking to herself, but suddenly tensed as the girl in front of him let out an anguished scream. Wondering what was happening to her, he inched closer. She stopped shaking as suddenly as she had started screaming. Confused, he walked even closer. That was a mistake on his part.

Kimi lifted up her head, and the nin saw that her eyes had turned golden yellow, with slits in the center. She immediately lashed out at the man. He jumped back as quick as he could, but when he thought he had dodged it, she sent out chakra from her arm and latched onto him.

'_What the! How did she do tha- AARRGH!_'

Kimi had reeled him in and began squeezing tighter, tighter, tighter, until she crushed the man. As his blood formed a large pool, she returned to her senses and looked at the corpse that was lying next to her.

'_D-Did I do that? Am I a monster? Is this why he was trying to kill me? What was that voice in my head earlier?_'

'**I'm the voice in your head.**'

"Hwah? Who are you?"

'**As I've already stated before, I am the almighty Rokubi no Raijuu, and I got sealed in you by some stupid, punk-ass Mizukage.** **Also, stop talking out loud like an idiot, and talk to me mentally. Anyway, you should leave before you get caught, kukuku.**'

Deciding to listen to its advice and move on, she ran as far away from the body as fast as she could. She exited the open plains that surrounded her house and entered the forest. Running, she leapt over stones, crevices, and animals alike. Sidestepping large trees, Kimi continued running. Her tears fell freely, the death of her family weighing her heart down. She did not know how far she ran, how long she was running, or how she could run at all in the condition her leg had been in. Soon it was daylight, and Kimi trudged along a dirt road, passing by caravans and merchants. She had no idea how close she was to Konohagakure. No idea what to do.

'_My family is gone. What do I do? What _can _I do_?'

Rokubi sighed mentally. '**The only thing you _can_ do, child. Start a new life in Konoha.**'

* * *

**Konohagakure: Morning**

After another day of walking and asking directions, she soon arrived at Konohagakure no Sato. As she looked out at the large and magnificent village, she heard a distant yell.

"UZUMAKI NARUTOOOOOOOO!"

Deciding to check it out, she crawled through a nearby crack in the wall and followed the voice to its source.

There, she saw young Uzumaki Naruto being yelled at by Umino Iruka, Chuunin and teacher at the Academy.

"Naruto what are you doing out of class!"

"…Thinking about life," Naruto muttered, clearly annoyed at being yelled at.

Iruka blinked suprisedly. '_Eh?_' "What could you possibly think about concerning life? Anyways, we have to get back to class."

Naruto grumbled, "But I don't learn anything useful at the Academy."

"That's no excuse to skip class though, Naruto," Iruka reprimanded.

Naruto folded his arms behind his head and sighed. "Yeah, yeah… whatever."

Kimi watched the two exchange a few more words, then leave towards the 'Academy'. The blonde's whisker marks intrigued her, so she followed the pair to their destination.

Seeing them enter a building, Kimi looked through several windows until she found the right one, spying Naruto and Iruka entering the room.

"Alright, because Naruto held up the class, we are going to have a test on the **Henge no Jutsu **right _now_," Iruka announced.

The class groaned in annoyance.

"Good going, dobe!" The kid who had sent the insult was a boy with messy hair and a dog on his head.

"Piss off, dogboy!" Naruto retaliated.

The 'dogboy' stood up angrily, shaking his fist. "Why you…"

Iruka's right eye twitched and screamed out, "SHUT UP AND LINE UP!"

The students were then called up one by one to Henge into Iruka.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka called out.

Kimi watched as the blonde boy sauntered up to the Chuunin. He paused before yelling, "**Henge**!"

As the clouds dispersed, a busty blond emerged. Iruka's eyes bulged and flew back with his nose spurting blood. Naruto released the henge and began laughing. Iruka quickly recovered and gave Naruto a good whacking on the head.

**Smack. **"You _idiot_!"

After school, Naruto ran outside gleefully, and came face to face with a girl he had never seen before. She was about his age, with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes, which reminded him of the ocean. She wore a white tank-top and blue ninja pants. Said girl raised an eyebrow as Naruto continued to stare. She checked herself quickly to see if she had something on her shirt. Finding nothing her attention came back to Naruto.

"What are you staring at?" Kimi questioned.

Naruto blinked rapidly. "Who are you? I've never seen you around before."

"...My name is of no concern to idiots."

Silence passed, and Naruto's right eye twitched furiously. "You talk like that Sasuke-teme," Naruto growled. "Well, if you're like that chicken-butt-for-hair, then you must not be a nice person. See ya!"

Naruto ran off towards the playground as Kimi stared at his back disbelievingly.

* * *

**Konohagakure: Hokage Tower: Early Afternoon**

Kimi showed up at the Hokage tower and entered the queue that stood waiting outside the Hokage's office. After what must have been fourty minutes, she was at the door. Slipping inside, she stood in front of the desk. Sandaime looked up from his paperwork to see a young girl of about seven years looking at him expectantly from the other side of his desk.

"What is it that you need, child?" he asked.

Kimi shuffled a bit, but steeled herself. "I-I'm from Kirigakure."

Sandaime raised a single questioning eyebrow. "Well then, what are you doing here in Konoha?"

"..."

Sandaime gazed at her patiently, waiting for an appropriate answer.

Staring at the floor, she paraphrased what had happened. "My... family... they were killed... by an assassin. I'm the only one left, and I ran here... to Konoha."

"Hrmm…" Sandaime muttered in deep thought, thinking of any possible explanation for the assassin to attack her family. "Did your family by any chance have possession of a bloodline limit?" he asked finally, his thoughts relating to the massacre of the bloodline limit users that had happened several decades ago.

Kimi shook her head. She _knew_ that her family had no bloodline limit. They were average shinobi.

Sandaime paused a bit, searching for another answer. "Then... you must be a jinchuuriki," he concluded.

Kimi kept her eyes on him. "What's that?"

"A jinchuuriki is... a human vessel that had a demon sealed into him or her," he explained. "For example, there are the nine bijuus. Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Shichibi, Hachibi, and Kyuubi."

Eyes widening, Kimi remembered the short conversation she had with the mysterious being during the assassination.

"We of Konoha have with us a jinchuuriki as well. I know full well how they are treated.

"Yes..." she said finally, "I'm a jinchuuriki." She looked up at the imposing old man sitting in front of her. "How did you know what a jinchuuriki is?"

Puffing on his pipe, Sandaime settled back into his chair. "Indeed, it is common for people to not know what a jinchuuriki is... I myself know what a jinchuuriki is, because one of them lives in Konoha." He closed his eyes in thought. "Were you a ninja?"

"I _am_ a ninja," she corrected.

"Not a _Konoha_ ninja," Sandaime shot back.

"Then... I wish to become a Konoha ninja." Kimi said.

Sandaime clasped his hands together. "Well, you're going to have to go to the Academy first."

Before Kimi could respond, he continued, "Because you are in a new country, where your skills are nearest to that of an Academy student or Genin, it would be wise to take the Academy. Though you may know everything, you can at least spend the extra years training."

"But where would I stay?" she asked. Of course, she hadn't brought any money with her in her escape.

"I have just the place in mind," he replied, a small smile gracing his face.

Sandaime quickly wrote something on a spare scrap of paper and handed it to Kimi.

"Go to this address and you can either stay there if it's satisfactory, or move out later if you find it unsatisfactory. If he asks why, tell him because I said so."

Taking the paper and muttering a few words of gratitude, she left the office.

'_I wonder if I should've told her that I could've set it up so she could graduate after one year..._' Sandaime thought. The next visitor entered, forcing his mind away from such thoughts.

Kimi walked to the address written on the paper, and soon ended up at a large, five or six story apartment complex after spending two hours of being lost and asking directions. She walked up several sets of stairs, found the apartment, double-checked to make sure it was correct, and rang the doorbell.

**Diiiing-Dooooong. **

"Coming! I'm coming!" yelled a familiar voice.

The door opened, and Kimi found herself face to face with none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

He stood stock still, assessing the situation. Sighing, he dropped his head in defeat.

"Whatever, come in and make yourself comfortable," he muttered, turning around to re-enter the small apartment.

Kimi entered his 'house' if it could be called one. It seemed to have two rooms. The bedroom, living room, and kitchen were all in a single room, and the second was a bathroom. She saw clothes and empty instant ramen cups littered all over the floor.

"So why are you here?" Naruto asked while he cleaned up what he could.

She sat on the only couch, and found it very comfortable. '_Probably because it's been sat on alot, and has a lot of 'character'._' Looking up, she could see that Naruto was still looking at her expectantly. "The old man... Sandaime Hokage-san... he told me to live here."

"…"

After thinking it over, Naruto finally understood the magnitude of what she had said.

"WHAT!?"

* * *

**Konohagakure: Hokage Tower: Afternoon**

Kimi soon found herself in front of the Hokage's desk again, along with Naruto.

"Hey old man!" Naruto shouted, "What is the meaning of this? Why does this… this girl have to live at _my_ house? Why not _Sasuke-teme's_?"

Sandaime sighed and rubbed his temple in dismay. "She is... just like you, Naruto. It would be in her best interest for her to live with you, instead of with anyone else."

"She's...like me…?" Naruto asked puzzledly. "What does that mean?"

"I'll tell you what I meant in good time, Naruto," Sandaime evaded. "Meanwhile, make sure you treat her properly. It wouldn't do for you to treat a girl poorly."

Naruto looked slightly ticked, but took it in stride. "Whatever," he muttered before leaving the office, Kimi following behind him

* * *

**Konohagakure: Streets: Afternoon**

As the two walked back to his apartment, Naruto decided to try and strike up a conversation.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Kimi sighed in annoyance. "I've heard," she said a bit too coldly.

Naruto's eyes winced at the tone of her voice, but was not seen by Kimi, as he was in the lead. "As long as you live with me, I should at least know your name," he said carefully.

"My name is Hanari Kimi," she said shortly. "I was a new Genin at Kirigakure."

"Why are you in Konohagakure then?" questioned Naruto. "What's so _good_ about Konoha that you left Kiri?" he whispered fiercely under his breath.

Kimi stared at the floor in remembrance. "I don't want to talk about it."

Soon, they arrived at his apartment. Naruto handed her a spare set of keys before walking off.

"H-Hey!" she yelled after him, startled at his sudden action. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Training," he said nonchalantly. "There's some instant ramen in the pantry if you're hungry."

Kimi sent a death glare at his back. "Che," she huffed.

**Naruto's POV**

'_I'm finally away from her_,' Naruto thought in relief. '_She sucks up the atmosphere just like that Sasuke-teme…_'

Naruto ran the rest of the way to his favorite training spot, hidden in the nearby forest, and began his tree-walking exercise and warm-ups.

'_Like me… What did that Sandaime jii-san mean by that?_'

After spending twenty minutes tree climbing, he went over to a lake to teach himself how to water-walk.

**Kimi's POV**

Kimi just finished showering, and began looking for some food to eat. Opening the pantry, she saw row and row upon ramen... instant ramen...

'_That _jerk_! I know he said he had ramen in the pantry, but this is _ridiculous! _He comes and leaves me here with _nothing_ but _ramen'

She tore apart the pantry to find something other than ramen, but to no avail.

'_Does this guy _live _off this stuff?_ _Whatever, I'll just take a nap…_' Settling comfortably on the couch, she soon fell fast asleep, snoring softly all the while.

* * *

**Konohagakure: Naruto's Apartment: Evening**

Naruto walked tiredly up the stairs to his apartment. '_Someday... I'll demand they put in an elevator,_' he grumbled mentally. Unlocking the door, he entered the apartment to find Kimi asleep on the couch. He stood glued to the floor for several minutes, listening to her soft breathing.

'_You know... I've never felt a girl's hair..._'

Naruto checked to make sure she was really asleep, by making funny faces and noises where she could see and hear, had she been awake.

'_Should I really go through with this? ...Hell yeah!_'

Naruto crouched down, his hand extending slowly and shakingly to feel her hair. Her hair was soft and silky, and he wondered if all girls had the same kind of feel to their hair.

Kimi suddenly mumbled a few incoherent words in her sleep, but that was enough.

Naruto froze.

'_Aw crap, if she finds out that I ever did this, I'm _toast'

He breathed a sigh of relief as she flopped around and continued with her sleeping. '_...Since when was I holding my breath?_' he realized.

He took a spare blanket from his closet and tucked her in. Naruto took one last look behind him before he too went to sleep.

It was morning, and the sunlight shone brightly on Kimi's face. She growled out something about the light deliberately sniping her, and noticed the blanket covering her.

'_That's funny, where did this blanket come from? I'm sure I went to sleep without one…_'

"Ohayo Kimi-chan," mumbled a sleepy Naruto. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept well." She did a double take. '_Kimi-_chan_? He must be too drowsy to know what he just said..._'

Taking a look at the clock, Naruto yawned widely. "We'd better get ready for school. Iruka-sensei will go berserk if I'm late again."

Naruto took a look at his orange jumpsuit. It was absolutely filthy! Dirt and grime covered all of it. '_Oh yeah... I forgot to wash it after training..._' Naruto sighed, as this now forced him to wear other clothes. Pulling on a pair of black ninja pants, a red t-shirt, and a black jacket, Naruto was now good to go.

Kimi stared at Naruto's new clothes. "Y'know, without that hideous orange jumpsuit, you actually look pretty good."

Dismissing the hateful remark on his favorite jumpsuit with a wave of his hand, he gestured for her to hurry up. Pretty soon, they had reached the Academy.

When Naruto entered the classroom, his new attire elicited stares from the entire class. The constant staring pissed Naruto off to no end.

"What are you all staring at?" he demanded. "My jumpsuit was dirty, so I wore these. No big deal."

Behind him, Kimi entered the classroom and stood at the front of the class. Iruka then introduced her. "Class, this is our new student."

Kimi spoke up, "Hi! I'm Hanari Kimi. Nice to meet you all." '_A lot of these guys look like idiots…_' she thought dejectedly, away from her supposedly cheery manner.

There were mixed reactions in the room.

'_She's cute._'

'_Looks a lot like Naruto…_'

'_Better not go for Sasuke-kun or _else'

'_How troublesome…_'

As she walked up the aisle, she decided to sit next to the only person she knew; Naruto. Naruto suddenly felt uncomfortable with Kimi sitting next to him, for reasons unknown to her. '_She'll never know what I did... she'll never know what I did..._' Naruto continually repeated this in his head, aware that his strange behavior was catching her attention. Unaware that he was aware, she noted his behavior and decided to keep an eye on him. All through the morning, she could see him sneaking glances at her, a slighty nervous look on his face.

Naruto nodded off slowly, placing his head down to sleep. At this point, Kimi wanted dyingly to know what secret he held. After school, Kimi looked around. Unable to see Naruto, she turned to leave when she noted a blur of black running into the forest.

'_Gah, no wonder I missed him. I'm used to him wearing orange!_'

She decided to tail him, and followed him into the woods. Nearly getting lost about three times, she finally ended up in a secluded training area. Training posts, trees, and a river was seen in the area, as well as some light weights and a jump rope. In the distance she spied Naruto doing his warm-up exercises.

'_For someone that acts like an idiot, he sure works hard…_' she thought dully.

Kimi's mind soon wandered again, as it had often before, and she failed notice Naruto catching sight of her and approaching her position.

"GRAARRGH!" he roared, his face set into a feral look.

As a very surprised girl, Kimi took the only possible action. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" She screamed.

Naruto chuckled at her reaction, but soon regretted it as she bopped him on the head. Hard.

**Whack.**

"Owww!" Naruto cried out, nursing his head. "What was that for?"

"Dammit, don't scare me like that you _idiot_!" she yelled.

Naruto puffed up in outrage. "It was your fault for invading _my_ privacy!"

"It's not my fault you were acting suspicious," countered Kimi.

Crossing his arms defiantly, Naruto smirked as he said, "It's your fault you spaced out and didn't notice me coming."

Kimi pouted in defeat.

'_Damn... she looks cute when she does that…' _Naruto suddenly realized the significance of the thought that had just ran through his head._ 'WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING? BAD NARUTO! BAD, BAD NARUTO!_'

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. To take his mind off of this new and unknown topic, he returned to training, leaving the ignored Kimi to go back to the apartment.

'_Let's see... yesterday I did a bit of water-walking, but I could only stand waist deep. Today... bah, I'll just work on water-walking again._' Thus, Naruto took off his jacket, shirt, and jeans, leaving himself in boxers. Taking a deep breath, he placed one foot securely onto the surface of the river. Finding it stable, he took another step, and another, until he was at the center. Looking around himself, he grinned widely and jumped in victory. That was a big mistake.

**SPLASH.**

"DAMMIT!" the blonde roared in frustration. He was now neck deep in water, and was severely pissed. '_I jump _one _freaking time, and I fall entirely into the river..._' he thought depressedly.

Soon enough, it was time to turn in. A still soaked Naruto entered the apartment to find Kimi asleep again on the couch. And once again, he felt the need to feel her hair.

'_I shouldn't do this. What if she wakes up? What if she accuses me of being perverted? I shouldn't do this, yet I want to so badly…_'

The silent argument in his mind continued for a while till the evil side won out. Crouching down, he began feeling her hair. Her silky soft hair… Unfortunately, he didn't know that she had been feigning sleep, intent on finding out the cause of his strange behavior.

'_Damn, what does he think he's doing?_' she thought. '_Is he some creepy pervert?_'

She shifted slightly and immediately he was gone from her presence. Still feigning sleep, she felt a blanket being placed on her. She pondered Naruto's recent actions but put them away as she fell asleep.

* * *

**Konohagakure: Naruto's Apartment: Morning**

It was a bright and sunny morning, and Kimi was once again sniped in the face by the sun. She grumbled loudly and sat up on the couch.

Naruto poked his head out of the bathroom, checking if the coast was clear. "Good morning, Kimi-chan" Naruto called out as he caught sight of her.

This time, instead of answering him she glared daggers through his heart. Feeling uncomfortable with this change of emotion, he asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

Kimi got up and walked over to Naruto, all without saying a word, which gave him the feeling of impending doom. The kind where a female gets pissed and beats you to a pulp.

"What were you doing last night?" she questioned bluntly.

Naruto decided to lie his way out and evaded with a "What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that _bull_!" she hissed. "I was awake the whole time."

Staring at the floor, Naruto tried to counter, but came up with nothing. "…"

"What were your reasons for doing that, Naruto?" she pushed, determined to get an answer from him.

"…"

"Answer me!"

Naruto sighed and mumbled something under his breath.

Kimi strained to catch what he had just said. "What?"

"I've... always wondered what a girl's hair felt like... Yours felt so good, I couldn't resist myself," Naruto said more loudly, while shifting uncomfortably.

Kimi narrowed her eyes. "When did you start doing it?"

"Since the first night," he mumbled.

"…"

"Please forgive me." Naruto begged. "I won't ever do it again, I promise. Naruto then proceeded into stage two of the 'grovelling style', the use of the puppy dog eyes.

Kimi sighed loudly, unable to resist its effects. Only the most heartless could. "I should kill you for what you did, but I'm a nice person so I'll forgive you this once."

"Ohhh, thank you Kimi-chan!" he said with relief. When they finished dressing for school, Naruto in his trademark orange jumpsuit and Kimi in a casual white t-shirt and blue ninja pants, Naruto took her hand and pulled her outside.

"Hurry up or we will be late!" he said with a large grin. "You _don't _want to see how Iruka-sensei is like when he's mad!"

Kimi could only return his smile and yelled, "Alright! Let's hurry up and finish the rest of this stupid Academy!"

The sun rose slowly as the two ran to another day of life... another chance at success.

* * *

This is my first ever fanfiction, so it'll be a while until I'm used to writing these kind of stories. 

**Benney: **Well, how did you like the newly edited chapter? Plot holes were filled, and I wrote with my 'improved' Black Lightning style writing. -good-guy pose- I'll be fixing all the chapters of Precious Person eventually, and I've even started writing the new chapter! ZOMG! Yes, it's true. After months of inactivity, PP shall rise from the ashes!

**Vocabulary**

Dobe - Loser/Dead-last

Teme - Bastard

Jiisan - Grandfather

Sensei - Teacher

**Jutsu List**

**Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)**** E-Rank - This jutsu allows the user to assume the appearance of another person, animal, or object. All ninja should know this technique, as it's a basic.**

**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Dragon Blast Technique) A-Rank – An attack that creates a huge current water in the shape of a dragon. A devastating single attack, the user does not need to be in or on water to perform the jutsu.**


	3. Realization

**Code: Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, because I'm not gay like that.**

**Ben: Eh, what he means to say is he doesn't own Naruto the ninja. That'd be wrong.**

**Code: Of course, Ben here _wants _to own him.**

**Ben: STFU! Stop spreading rumors you s.o.b!**

**Code: Anyways, this is the new revamped installment of Precious Person, Chapter 02. Huzzah!**

**Precious Person **

Chapter 2: Realization

----

"Hey Kimi-chan, hurry up or we'll be late for the Genin Exams!" Naruto yelled through the open doorway. It had been five years since they had first met each other. Through those five years, they had developed a very strong friendship, considering each other best friends. Who wouldn't? He had lived in the same house as her, gone to the same school as her, and even ate meals with her, for _five_ years! There was nobody on earth that wouldn't at least create some semblance of a friendship by living with someone for five years.

"Alright Naruto, I'm ready!" she yelled back, tying her hair back into a ponytail and exiting the apartment. "Let's GO!" she roared, before the two took off, trying to race each other down to the bottom. They were on the sixth story, the highest level of the apartment complex. Thus, it wasn't sound to jump off from where they had begun. That is why they raced. Laughing and panting, they ran down stairs, swerved corners, and jumped over obstacles. One couldn't tell whether or not they were siblings at such a distance, the two blond heads weaving in and out of groups of adults that were occupying the path.

Soon enough, they were out of the apartment and racing towards the Academy itself. Some people still held contempt in their hearts towards Naruto, but some had also changed their views towards him. After the arrival of Kimi, he had pretty much stopped pranking, spending every waking moment with her instead. Getting to know Kimi required getting to know her blond friend as well, and people realized how innocent he was. He wasn't _it_, but just a normal boy. A short, but growing boy at that. The two received some glares, some smiles, some calls, but they ignored it as they continued to race. They were trying to prove to each other who was better.

Within ten minutes, they had arrived at the Academy, both of them panting heavily for breaths. Naruto collapsed onto the floor, clutching his heart weakly, while Kimi plopped her face against the wall and didn't move a muscle. They turned their gazes towards each other, before making a mad dash towards the classroom in a final race.

----

The students in the classroom heard a loud scuffling noise, and they wondered what it could be. Uchiha Sasuke braced himself, hoping that it wasn't Sakura or Ino. He didn't show this though, because it would ruin his current image as the broody and stoic Genin of the Year. Instead, he steeled himself mentally, gritting his teeth. Questions were answered as the door slammed open, both Naruto and Kimi stumbling in. Sweat fell freely, as they both collapsed onto the floor, their breathing shallow. Naruto rolled over so that he could face the ceiling, only to be met by the face of one Nara Shikamaru.

"What was that all about?" the pineapple-haired student asked. "Did you two run here all the way from your apartment?"

He wore a pair of brown ninja pants, and a small jacket of green and gray over a fishnet shirt. As pants, Shikamaru had on normal ninja sandals and bandages over his right leg. His hair, like suggested, was tied into a pineapple-shaped ponytail. It was a dark-brown color, his eyes being a brown of a different shade. He was a lazy-ass who got into trouble nearly as much as Naruto did. Of course, when he tried he was very, _very_ smart. Something that Naruto resented.

"Yeah," Naruto gasped out painfully, "I won."

"Did not!" Kimi said, her voice muffled by the floor. She rolled over as well so that she could speak clearly. "I obviously won, what with my head entering first."

"It's feet first," he insisted, sitting up. "Going in headfirst doesn't count."

"Yes, it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

While the two bickered, Sasuke let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. Those two fiends, Sakura and Ino, he sometimes feared them. Well, he feared their obsessive behaviors more than he actually feared the girls themselves. One time, Ino had had followed him into the bathroom with a camera in hand. He had narrowly escaped with the use of the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**, but from then on, he was forever on his guard.

Then, he heard something that made him on edge again. While Naruto and Kimi continued up the aisle, still bickering, there was a low rumble heard. Narrowing his eyes, he braced himself once again. This time, he was not disappointed, as the door slammed open, revealing one Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino fighting their way through the door. He let out an inaudible sigh as they both stumbled through at the same time.

"Ha! Take that, Ino-buta!" Sakura yelled triumphantly. "I was first, so _I_ get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

She had long, waist-length bubble-gum-pink hair and emerald eyes. She wore a red, one-piece kunoichi dress over a pair of black latex pants that stopped just an inch or two above the knee. Her forehead was unusually large, for some reason or another.

"What do you mean, forehead-girl?" Ino yelled back heatedly. "_I_ was obviously first, so _I_ get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

She had pale, waist-length blond hair that was tied into a ponytail so that it only reached a little bit past her neck. Her eyes were sky-blue, and she had no definite pupils. Like Sakura, she wore a kunoichi dress, but it was purple and was two-pieced. Instead of latex, she wore bandages over her legs and exposed stomach. Over her arms were arm guards quite similar in design to Sasuke's own.

Their argument was quite similar to the one that had occurred and was occurring with Kimi and Naruto. He preferred the blonds' argument better though, as it was a friendly one amongst friends about a friendly race. These two obsessed fan-girls were like leeches, sucking off him to survive. They fought for him, and at many points it was very angering to see them treat him like an object to be won. He didn't _need_ a stupid girl to hang off of him anyways. He needed... to grow stronger.

Naruto sat in the same table as Sasuke. While Sasuke sat at the left of the three-person table, Naruto sat on the right, leaving the middle completely open.

'_Damned fool, now those girls will fight over this spot!_'

Kimi had sat at the table to Naruto's right, on the very left so that they could continue arguing. The two did not particularly like Sasuke, but they tolerated him. Naruto felt the boy's pain at the loss of his clan nearly four years ago, he felt Sasuke's loneliness and despair. Kimi had felt it as well, her being a jinchuuriki as well. For years, she had wondered who the second jinchuuriki was. Sandaime had never told her, and she doubted that he ever would. Meanwhile, the two had stopped arguing, agreeing on the fact that because one had entered headfirst and the other had placed his foot in first, that it was a tie. Sasuke could only wish that Sakura and Ino could be as reasonable as the two blonds.

By this time, Sakura had spotted the empty seat next to Sasuke, and ignoring Ino's insults, she ran ahead.

"Oh, hello Sakura-ch-oof!" Naruto called out, but halfway through his call, she grabbed hold of his head and pushed aside roughly, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"Move, baka!" was her only reply.

While Naruto nursed his head, Kimi stood up forcefully, glaring at the pink-haired 'abomination'.

"Apologize."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, turning around. "Why should I? He's just a _dobe_."

"_Apologize_," Kimi said again, emphasizing the word. "Apologize to my friend _now_, you _whore_."

The entire room quieted, as they looked at the two girls. Sakura shook in rage, shocked at the name that Kimi had dared to call her. Balling up her fists, she swung at the blonde with her right arm, screaming.

Kimi just watched the blow coming, as if it was in slow motion. She tilted her head to the right, so that the fist was avoided. Taking the delay of the attack afterwards, she took Sakura's arm and twisted it, turning the pink-haired girl around so that she was now on the floor while Kimi held up the arm. Bending it backwards and sending searing pain through the arm, she threatened silently to break the arm. A little more, a little more.

"A-Alright!" Sakura choked out, having taken enough pain to create tears. "I-I'm sorry! There, I said it!"

Kimi let go of the arm immediately after, helping up a surprised Naruto. Sakura, meanwhile, had shuffled into the seat that she had been earlier trying to reach, cradling her right arm gently. She sent a glare every once in a while towards her now hated nemesis, but she dared not speak up, in fear of another beating. Naruto returned to his seat soon after, looking quite bored. There was absolutely nothing to do while they waited for their teacher.

He turned, spotting a look on Sasuke's face. It wasn't a face he normally portrayed, and especially one that was directed towards himself. It was a knowing look, about Sakura's obsessiveness and impulsiveness. Naruto had to agree to that, because he was subject to Sakura's obsessive beatings many times when she had caught him badmouthing the Uchiha. Of course, that knowing look of Sasuke's still had that tint of superiority – That he had someone who worshiped the ground he stepped on, and that Naruto didn't.

Sasuke wore simple white shorts that stopped just above the knee, along with the customary bandages. He wore a blue shirt on top, which had the Uchiha clan's large collar, as well as the Uchiha symbol enlarged onto the back of the shirt. On his arms, he had white arm guards with blue edges, similar to Ino's purple and white ones. His ninja sandals reflected a lot of wear and tear, something that many of the other students in the Academy lacked, because of their lack of actual training.

In five more minutes of hushed silence, Umino Iruka and Touji Mizuki walked into the classroom. Iruka was the teacher, and Mizuki the assistant teacher. They were both Chuunin, and ruled the classroom with an iron fist. Walking in with them was a third Chuunin, one the students recognized as the third-year assistant teacher.

"Alright, today is the big day!" Iruka announced. "Today, you all take the test to be qualified to become real Genin!"

Many of the students began whispering with each other in nervousness, excitement, and worry. This was, of course, silenced by a cough from Iruka.

"The first test will be a written exam," Iruka announced, withdrawing a large stack of papers from a drawer of his desk. "There are ten questions that relate to the task of shinobi. There are no exceptions. The answer is either right or wrong." While Mizuki passed out the papers, Iruka continued on. "The extra Chuunin teacher, Sarugaki Tsujimi (Yes, he's an actual Chuunin from the series), will be here to locate any cheaters."

Tsujimi wasn't anyone particularly spectacular. Spiky dark-brown hair above his hitai-ate and the normal flak jacket that Chuunin wore, he didn't catch anyone's attention.

The next twenty minutes were tense, a heavy feeling laying in the air. No one in particular got caught cheating, because everyone was afraid to. This was their big chance, and they didn't want to blow it. Naruto, meanwhile, bit his pencil nervously, as he only knew the answer to about four of the questions. Why didn't he take time to study beforehand? It would have helps so much... Shaking his thoughts out of his head, Naruto proceeded to write down educated guesses for the remainder of the problems, biting his lip now in nervousness. Would getting half of the test right let him become a Genin?

After the written test was a weapons efficiency test. The entire class went outside to the targets and threw shuriken and kunai. A student had to get above seventy percent accuracy to be for their aim to be deemed acceptable enough to be a Genin's. Naruto had less trouble with this one, getting eight kunai and seven shuriken onto the targets. Compared to Sasuke though, he was worthless. The Uchiha had sent all of the shuriken and kunai into the dead center of the targets. Kimi had done the second best in the class, getting all of her shuriken and kunai to hit the target, and very close to the center at that. All the girls began swooning after Sasuke and all the guys began glaring out of spite and jealousy.

Finally, it was the moment of retribution.

"This is it, the final exam. You will be called up at random, so prepare yourselves!" Iruka warned. "If you don't come up within the time limit, you'll receive a zero for this part of the test. The test involves the performing of ninjutsu. Good luck." With that, he walked into the separate examination room.

Taking a clipboard from Iruka's desk, Tsujimi began calling off names. Students went up, and never came out. The tension in the room skyrocketed, each of the students frantically trying to review for the practical examination.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're up."

The blond got up and nervously walked down the aisle, past the other nervous students, and into the other room.

Iruka and Mizuki both sat behind a desk, clipboards in their hands. Iruka nodded for the blond to go, which made Naruto look to Mizuki.

"The first thing to perform is the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**." With that, he pulled a dull shuriken out of a drawer. "Are you ready?"

Naruto nodded, going through the necessary hand seals. Mizuki threw the dull shuriken, which was not sharp enough to kill, or even to harm, but at the speed it flew, it could be enough to throw the Academy student off of his feet. It hit Naruto straight in the gut, before the blond was replaced by a log and a puff of smoke. This received a nod of approval from Iruka, whilst Mizuki explained the next jutsu of the list.

"Next, is the **Henge no Jutsu**. Transform into me."

He went through another set of different hand seals, channeling chakra throughout his body.

"**Henge!**" Naruto yelled, before becoming enveloped in a large cloud of smoke. When it dissipated seconds later, another Mizuki stood where Naruto had been. Another cloud of smoke appeared, this time revealing a short blond when it dissipated. This received another nod of approval, at which Mizuki stated the final jutsu.

"Perform... the **Bunshin no Jutsu** and create three Bunshin."

Naruto gulped nervously. This was the worst jutsu in his small arsenal. He had never, and he meant _never_ in his life been able to perform this technique. Closing his eyes and placing his hands in the seal of the O-hitsuji, he concentrated on channeling chakra through his body, measuring it evenly, feeling it spread through his body. Spreading his legs wide, grimaced.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he yelled.

When the smoke dissipated, one dysfunctional Bunshin lay on the floor, tongue lolling out.

"Uh, I messed up," Naruto said loudly while Iruka deadpanned. "Let me try it again."

He put his hand back into the seal of the O-hitsuji and concentrated as much chakra as he could, making it form a small sphere around him.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

This time, there was one functional Bunshin standing next to the real Naruto, with two dysfunctional ones.

"...Uzumaki Naruto, you fail... _again_," Iruka sighed out, making it known that he was disappointed.

"Oh, don't be so harsh Iruka," Mizuki said kindly. "At least he made a working Bunshin _this_ time."

"Mizuki, Naruto, you need to create three functional Bunshin to pass," Iruka said. "I'm sorry, but I can't grant exceptions. Better luck next time, Naruto."

Naruto heaved a heavy sigh and left the room through another door. No wonder no one had reemerged from the room. About thirty minutes after his departure, everyone had finished testing and had their hitai-ates, save one. Naruto sat on a swing, the only one unable to graduate, trying his best not to cry. He tried to ignore the words coming from several of the parents.

"He's the only one that didn't pass," one woman said, sympathy in her voice.

"Good," another said forcefully. "Can you imagine what would happen if he became a ninja?"

"Too bad we can't do anything about that demo-"

"Shh! You know it's forbidden to speak of that!" a fourth woman said to the third.

Within minutes of exiting the Academy, Kimi had tracked Naruto down, by looking for blond hair. Really, it was a rare occurrence in Konoha, to have blond hair. The only others that she knew had blond hair were the Yamanakas, and before them, the Yondaime. Compared to the amount of brunettes, blonds were a minority.

"Naruto, where's your hitai-ate?" she asked, genuinely curious. She had expected her best friend to pass, after all, he had trained so hard for this day.

"I... didn't pass," he said quietly, hanging his head down to stare at the ground. "I wasn't able to make enough Bunshin."

Kimi felt truly sorry for him. Naruto had trained so hard, day in day out, only to fail in the end…

As Naruto shuffled home without Kimi, Mizuki jumped down from a rooftop to intercept him...

----

It was night, and Kimi was wandering through the streets idly. She was now a Genin, and Naruto wasn't. Life was cruel sometimes, and horribly so. Naruto really deserved to be a Genin, she knew. He had the fire and will to be one, as well as the determination and bravery. That was when she saw a lot of Chuunin and Jounin running around through the streets, searching for something... or _someone_.

"What's going on? What happened?" she asked them. Many ignored her, continuing their search, until she finally asked one that stopped at her question. He looked aside, recognizing her.

"Naruto, he stole the Scroll of Secrets from Hokage-sama's mansion," the Chuunin said. "That's all I really know. I'm sorry, but we're all looking for him. If you can find your friend, tell him that he's in deep trouble and that he needs to return that scroll, pronto." After saying that, he took off towards his original destination, joining the others in their search for the blond.

"He _what_!?" she said aloud.

----

Kimi jumped through the treetops towards Naruto's favorite training grounds, the exact same spot that she had followed him to five years prior. Just as she had expected, she found Naruto there with a very large scroll, which happened to be about two-thirds as tall as him. The fact that it was open didn't help to confirm the facts. Naruto looked up at a sound of shuffling leaves and spotted Kimi, who had just dropped down from the nearest tree.

"Hi Kimi-chan," he greeted. "I _just_ learned a jutsu from this awesome scroll. Do you want to learn some too?" offered Naruto. Although she felt like whacking him on the head, hard, she just couldn't resist. Since when did you ever get the chance to learn jutsu from one of the forbidden jutsu scrolls, especially one that the Hokage guarded himself?

Acting upon her decision, she chose to learn **Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu** and **Suiton: Suijinheki**. Meanwhile, Naruto had chosen to learn **Katon: Karyuu Endan** and **Katon: Yurika no Jutsu**, along with having previously learned **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** already.

By the time they had finished learning the jutsu, it had been several hours, and you could barely see more than ten feet in front of you. Darkness had fallen, and Naruto was wondering something, Kimi could tell.

Suddenly, the two heard a noise from the underbrush. Kimi quickly hid in a tree, motioning for Naruto to stay where he was, just as Iruka entered the clearing.

"Naruto!" he exclaimed, having found the target. "What do you think you're doing with that scroll?"

"Mizuki-sensei told me if I learned a jutsu from the scroll, I could become a Genin," Naruto said. "So, uh, did I pass?"

'_Mizuki?_' Iruka thought confusedly. He then heard a whizzing sound, which he recognized almost immediately.

"Naruto, get down!"

Iruka ran in front of Naruto, pushing him aside, only to get hit by the kunai that were aimed at Naruto. He panted heavily, his blood seeping out of the wounds that were inflicted by the sharp weapons. If what he had happened was not a dream, then the culprit behind this was...

Mizuki appeared in the clearing, sporting a sinister smirk.

"Nice job in finding him for me, Iruka."

"Mizuki, what the hell do you think you're doing!" Iruka yelled, half in anger, half at being unable to accept the fact. "Why would you betray Konoha?"

"I'm doing the village a huge favor by killing that _demon_, Iruka. After I kill him, I'll take the scroll and learn its secrets. I'll become all-powerful! Now out of the way!"

Kimi stared at Mizuki from the tree branch that she was hiding in.

'_Demon?_' she thought, trying to connect the two. It was obvious that Mizuki had not been addressing her, as she had been hidden. Mizuki had told Iruka to move away from the demon, so Iruka wasn't it. The only one left was... Naruto. Why was Naruto called a demon? In the five years that she had known him, he had never done anything cruel, anything that would relate him to being a demon. Unless...

"Mizuki!" Iruka yelled, a tone of panic entering his voice. "You know we're not supposed to speak of that! Especially around them!"

"It won't make a difference once the two of you are dead, will it?" the Chuunin replied. He then turned to Naruto.

"Hey gaki, do you know why everyone hates you so much?"

Naruto shook his head. He had never known why people had hated him as a child. He _had_ noticed the subtle change of many of the civilians, which he was happy for, but there were still many people that glared at him, that threw him out of shops, that called him names behind his back when they thought he wasn't listening. He had always wondered why they abused him emotionally like that, and even Sandaime, his grandfather figure, had refused to tell him. He had said it was something that Naruto would know when he was older, but he wanted to know _now._

"Mizuki, No! Don't do it!" yelled Iruka, panicking, the sweat falling freely from his face.

"Do you remember that twelve years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha? And that the Yondaime Hokage supposedly killed the Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded. Who in Konoha _didn't_ know of Yondaime's feats and accomplishments? As a child, he had been drawn to Yondaime because of their matching blond hair and blue eyes, the strength of the Hokage, and his love for the village. He had read nearly every single book in the library about Yondaime, and he had enjoyed it. The blond Hokage had become a role model, an idol even.

"Well, that's all bullshit. The Kyuubi was sealed into a newborn baby. Guess who." Mizuki's face contorted into a sneer. "That's right! You were that baby! You're the Kyuubi no Youko, the youkai kitsune that almost destroyed this village and even killed Iruka's parents!"

Kimi's eyes widened. This explained why the Hokage had said that they were alike, and it also explained the treatment he got from the villagers. For the first time in the five years that she had known Naruto, she had never suspected him of being the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. For five years, she had searched for that jinchuuriki when she had been living with him the entire time!

Naruto was just as shocked at this new information, having just learned the reason why he had been treated the way he had. Mizuki then took this opportunistic chance to throw a very large shuriken at Naruto at high speed.

"Die, demon!" he exclaimed loudly, laughing maniacally to boot.

The shuriken traveled at an amazing pace, flying straight at the blond. Frozen in fear and disbelief, Naruto closed his eyes to meet the inevitable. Just before the shuriken hit and before Kimi was about to jump in, someone jumped in front of Naruto, shielding him from the shuriken.

**SCHING!**

Naruto's eyes opened at the sound, and widened when he saw that Iruka had protected him from the shuriken at the cost of getting hit by it himself. The large weapon protruded from his back, an added wound to the already previously-inflicted kunai wounds. For Iruka to keep saving his life, did he mean something to the Chuunin? Why was he so important that Iruka would risk his whole life to save him? He was the Kyuubi no Youko, Mizuki had just said this. He had killed Iruka's parents. What reason did the Chuunin have for protecting him?

_Drip. Drip. Drip. _

As Iruka's blood fell to the ground, Naruto asked him the question that had been brewing in his mind.

"W-Why? Why did you protect me?"

The emotion on Iruka's face was a mixture of sadness, regret, self-loathing, and pain.

"You and I are the same Naruto," he replied. "We both lost our parents at an early age, and because of that we both wanted attention by pranking and doing horrible in class. All this time I've watched you from a distance, never comforting you while knowing how much you were hurting. I'm sorry…"

Silent for a little while, Naruto got up quickly and ran deeper into the forest that surrounded the training area.

'_Naruto!_' thought Kimi as she followed his trail, only to stop at a few trees nearby Mizuki. It seemed that Naruto hadn't run, but merely gone around. In his current position, he could either run or attack, what a strategy. He really was cunning when it came to his instincts... like a kitsune. Like Kyuubi. She wanted whole-heartedly to tell Naruto that he was just the vessel, that he wasn't the youkai, but if she did, it would blow his position.

Mizuki turned to Iruka, looking at his fellow Chuunin pitifully.

"Yo, why didn't you let the teme die? Don't you hate the Kyuubi, when it murdered your parents and left you an orphan? If you don't hate it, then you're just a baka..."

"It's true... I _do_ hate the Kyuubi," he replied after a moment's silence.

Naruto, having heard this, put his head down dejectedly. Iruka had hated him after all, even after the words he'd uttered, he nevertheless hated him. Hated him for taking away his family. Actually, Naruto couldn't blame him for hating. Iruka had lost so much to the attack by Kyuubi, his family, his will, his identity.

"But!"

This word caused Naruto's head to raise up, hope having not died completely in his heart.

"Naruto is _not_ the Kyuubi. He may fool around and cause lots of trouble, but he's a great, kind kid who'll become a great ninja once he realizes his own, full potential. Unlike you, Mizuki, he's a true ninja of Konoha. He's Uzumaki Naruto… the future Hokage!"

Tears streamed down Naruto's face, a sad but happy smile appearing. Iruka acknowledged him. Acknowledged his existence, his purpose, his goal. He had found someone outside of the small group that he had, which was composed of Teuchi Ichiraku, Sandaime, and Kimi.

'_Thank you… Iruka-sensei…_'

Mizuki was annoyed now. He had just been subtly dissed by Iruka, and he did not like it one bit. He didn't like it at all.

"You know what, Iruka? I'll kill you right now. I was hoping to kill you later, after I'd gotten a hold of that scroll, but you've proven yourself very annoying. And a demon lover." He pulled his arm back. "SAYONARA!" he screamed, making to let go.

Right before he did let go of the shuriken though, a blur of orange appeared and kicked upwards, hitting him in the jaw. Mizuki's head shot up, and with his vision impaired, caused the shuriken to fly into the sky and miss Iruka altogether. Mizuki recovered quickly, wiping away a small trickle of blood from his mouth. He looked in front of him, seeing Naruto standing in front of Iruka, the large Scroll of Secrets in hand. Naruto had a different expression on his face. Not of fear, not of worry or nervousness, but of pure, unbridled rage and determination.

"If you touch Iruka-sensei, I'll _kill you_!" he growled menacingly. Though Mizuki didn't know it, he also had the means to back up his threat. Because of the lack of this fact in Mizuki's thought-bank, it would cause his downfall.

"Punk, I'll kill you in one shot for that kick you just gave me," the traitor Chuunin gritted out, being pissed off to a new high.

Naruto formed a seal, taking the shape of a cross.

"Try it, you _scum_. I'll return the pain a thousand times over."

"Then do it, Kyuubi-teme!"

"**KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!**"

A huge wave of smoke blanketed the area, and Mizuki paled when he recognized the name of the jutsu that Naruto had performed. When the smoke had cleared and dissipated, there were hundreds of Naruto standing around him. Possibly even the one-thousand that Naruto had threatened to inflict back upon the Chuunin. Mizuki was stunned, to say the least. Not that Naruto had learned it. Learning jutsu wasn't hard. He was surprised that Naruto could actually use it, and make so many with it at that.

"W-W-What the hell!?" he yelled hoarsely, beginning to back up.

"What's wrong, scum?" Naruto questioned. "I thought that you were going to kill me in one shot, and yet you're already backing off! You s.o.b! Well, if you aren't going to attack me, I might as well attack _you_!"

The Kage Bunshin began performing hand seals, starting with the Tora seal. Both Mizuki and Iruka recognized it. When a hand seal combination started with the Tora seal, it indicated the use of a Katon jutsu. Mizuki was already surprised that Naruto had learned and used a jutsu from the scroll, but to have learned a second one? It was downright insane! In fact, it was impossible for Genin to even learn such Jounin techniques! IMPOSSIBLE!!

"**Tayjuu – Katon: Karyuu Endan!**'

'_Oh, holy shit! Sweet mother of Kami! That s.o.b!_' thought Mizuki. '_I'm screwed._'

"G-GYAAAAAAH!"

A severely burned Mizuki lay motionless on the floor while Naruto and Kimi stood next to the wounded Iruka. The reason that Mizuki hadn't died from the Jounin level technique was that Naruto, chakra capacity and all, was still only at a Genin level. His chakra control was horrible, which made the flames weaker, cooler, and not as powerful as it should have been when performed by a Jounin. Iruka motioned to Naruto to come closer, which the blond dutifully obeyed.

"Hey, Naruto, close your eyes for a sec."

Naruto did so, wondering why Iruka would tell him to close his eyes. He knew that Iruka wouldn't strike him down, as he had already confessed what he thought about the blond. What was it? What was he doing? He felt a cloth rustle, a gasp which likely came from Kimi, and a chuckle from Iruka. What was so surprising? Did his hair get messed up? Was there something on his face? Naruto wanted to know what was wrong, _so_ badly.

"Now, open them."

Naruto opened his eyes to see a hitai-ate-less Iruka with a big smile on his face. He turned to Kimi, who also had a wide smile on.

"Congratulations Naruto, you pass! You're now officially a Genin of Konoha! Now let's go celebrate at Ichiraku Ramen, my treat."

"Yippee!" yelled Naruto while jumping around. This was the happiest moment in his entire life. Someone had just entered his life as one who was precious to him, making the total count four. He had just been passed on to become a Genin. He had learned there Jounin-level jutsu. He was now being treated to ramen. What more could a guy want? The three of them set off, wounds and all, towards Ichiraku.

Sandaime just smiled from his vantage point right in front of the magic crystal ball. Perhaps there was hope yet for Naruto after all...

----

The next day, Naruto and Kimi arrived at the Academy to be assigned their Genin teams. They walked into the same classroom that they had taken the Genin Exams in, only to be greeted warmly.

"Hey dobe, This room is for _graduates only_!" Kiba yelled.

Or not.

Naruto pointed to his hitai-ate, smirking all the while.

"You have to be blind not to see this, loser! Oh wait, I guess you are blind, since the only thing you can do is try and _smell _it. I _did_ graduate, you fleabag."

Brashness clashed with stubbornness, as Kiba and Naruto went face to face, daring each other to say those insults again. Insults flew back and forth, with Naruto yelling about loyal dogs one minute and Kiba yelling about the color orange being stupid the next. Of course, the entire argument ended when Kiba yelled something about dumb blonds.

**Whack.**

Kiba lay twitching on his desk, a gigantic bump on his head. Naruto trailed meekly behind Kimi, who had violently attacked the newly instated Genin for the blonde remark. The two of them went to the farthest unoccupied table. Unfortunately, none other than Uchiha Sasuke, effectively nicknamed the Ice King, occupied one of the seats. Also unfortunate was that Naruto hated sitting in the front. It was either sit at the same table as Sasuke or to sit in the front. Well, you would know how stubborn Naruto is. He also made the mistake of sitting next to Sasuke. When he realized his mistake, Naruto glanced to his right.

"Kimi-chan, want to trade seats?"

"No." This caused Naruto to pout in disappointment. .

Then, a large commotion elicited sighs from around the room. Like yesterday, the door slammed open. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura raced into the room, arguing once again about who got in first and who got to sit next to Sasuke. Honestly, after yesterday's incident, Naruto wasn't feeling so warm towards Sakura. Of course, he added the chan prefix to _every _girl's name, so one couldn't tell unless he acted differently towards them.

Then, Sakura saw Naruto and Kimi in the seats next to Sasuke. She fidgeted a bit before sitting near the front, in one of the unoccupied seats. Sasuke silently let out a breath that he had been holding, and mentally thanked Kimi for her violence the previous day. It seemed to have scared off the fan-girls. Ino took a seat next to Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji, though she did it reluctantly.

Chouji belonged to the Akimichi family, who specialized in using their large size to implement their taijutsu style, which involved enlarging limbs and crushing opponents. Chouji was fat, short and to the point. He wore short brown pants that stopped above the knee, a yellow shirt with the kanji for 'eat' on it, and a green jacket over it. Around his neck, he wore a long white scarf, and instead of wearing a conventional hitai-ate, his was modified so that it covered everything above the forehead, save for two holes that let out his hair. Around his arms, starting from the elbow and ending at the fingers, and his legs, he wore many bandages. His face was chubby and had two swirl marks on either cheek.

Soon after the dispersal, Iruka entered the room and gave the class a speech about becoming a Genin, the responsibilities that came with it, and a Genin's duties. Naruto simply tuned him out and went to sleep. Kimi gave him an exasperated look. Did she really have to do this every time he got bored? Take notes and recite everything to him later?

"Why don't you ever pay attention?" she whispered fiercely, ticked off to an extent.

"You'd summarize it to me in easier-to-understand words afterwards anyway," he groaned out, "Since I don't understand what he's saying right now."

Kimi grudgingly had to admit he was right. Better for her to recite it later for him rather than him not paying attention and then not even gaining anything.

Iruka began announcing teams, starting from Team One, and working his way up. This time, both Naruto and Kimi tuned him out, listening specifically for their own names. They really didn't need to know what Genin other teams had. There were only a few worthy Genin in the classroom anyways. Sasuke was definitely one of them, and Kiba may have been another. Though he acted tough and rough, he often had the power to back up his words.

"Team Seven!" Iruka announced. "Daitaki Kimi..."

This of course received Naruto's instant attention.

"...Uzumaki Naruto..."

Naruto shoved his fist into the air in joy. He was in a Genin team with his best friend. What could go wrong?

"Yahoo!"

"...Uchiha Sasuke..."

Naruto sat down glumly. He just _had_ to ask 'what could go wrong?', didn't he? He just jinxed himself. What could make it any worse?

"... and Haruno Sakura..."

Sakura did the same thing as Naruto, getting up to yell in happiness, thrusting both of her fists into the air. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kimi all looked tiredly at the pink-haired kunoichi... or rather, kunoichi-wannabe.

'_Crap. Pink-haired bully,_' thought Naruto.

'_... a stupid fan-girl and the dobe,_' thought Sasuke. '_How _blessed_. Ugh._'

'_Crap. Obsessive freak,_' thought Kimi.

After thinking a little bit, Sakura sat down and raised her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?" Iruka asked, her question stopping him from announcing Team Eight. "Is something the matter?"

"Hold on sensei," she began, "The other teams have three-man-teams. Why do we have four in our squad?"

"Good question Sakura," the Chuunin said, nodding. "Unfortunately, there was one extra person, and the Hokage personally placed Kimi on the team."

Sakura had one more question.

"Doesn't this unbalance our team?"

"No. Sasuke was the best in class, and Naruto was the worst. You scored higher on the written exams, but Kimi scored higher in the practical exams. There's also the little tidbit that considering nearly every person had double Naruto's scores. This means that everyone is supposedly 2 times better than Naruto. So in theory, you'd need two people to take Naruto's spot, but that's just in theory. It's not wise to underestimate him."

Kimi and Naruto had the same thought through their heads.

'_Yeah. _supposedly_. Heheh…_' The two had an arsenal of Jounin-level techniques, and weren't afraid to break them out when needed. Boy, would their team be surprised when they learned how strong Naruto was. Oh man, Naruto really wanted to see Sasuke's expression when that happened.

"You can't really judge my combat skills based on test scores though Iruka-sensei," Naruto said smugly, his words reflecting his thoughts.

"You're right about that Naruto, and that's where the Jounin instructors come into play. It's their job to test your skills." Iruka finished off citing the teams, and then sat down in his seat to wait for the Jounin to slowly come in and claim their students. From now on, they weren't his students, they were full-fledged ninja.

----

Several hours later, Naruto was very, _very_ annoyed.

"What the hell is this bullshit?" he cursed. "Everyone else already left, _including_ Iruka-sensei! Where the hell is our new teacher?"

Although they didn't express it, the rest of team was agitated as well. Sakura was bored stiff, Kimi wanted desperately to take a nap, and Sasuke was pissed. Would a late Jounin be a good sensei? Would he be weak? Strong?

"Argh, if he's going to be late, there's going to be a punishment waiting for him!" Naruto declared.

Setting up a chalkboard eraser on the door, he then created several Kage Bunshin in the form of spiders. He did this by performing **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** and **Henge no Jutsu** at nearly the same time. Naruto sent the Kage Bunshin spiders to hide throughout the room, in preparation for the _punishment_ that the blond had designed.

Sasuke looked in an annoyed manner at the chalkboard eraser.

"A Jounin won't fall for cheap tricks like that, _dobe_."

Naruto gave him one of his foxy grins.

"You'll see what I'm planning, Sasuke-teme," he promised.

After several more minutes, the four Genin of Team Seven heard footsteps coming down the hall, getting louder as it began drawing closer. A hand appeared at the door and slowly pushed it open. As the eraser fell, Naruto quickly performed **Kawarimi no Jutsu** to switch the eraser with his Kage Bunshin, who had released their guise, causing them all to fall on the poor Jounin's head. The result was a satisfying "OOMF!" from the gray-haired Jounin.

The gray-haired man, known as Hatake Kakashi, got up and dusted himself off after crushing the Kage Bunshin into oblivion with his bare hands. He scrutinized the Genin team in front of him closely before saying something that surprised them.

"My first impression of you guys is… that I don't like you. On the roof, five minutes."

He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing at the rooftop using **Shunshin no Jutsu**.

"If he could teleport like that, why didn't he come on time?" Naruto grumbled aloud. Similarly, everyone else was thinking the same thing.

Within five minutes they were all sitting on the roof of the Academy, waiting for their new Jounin sensei to say something. He didn't disappoint.

"Alright you four, Tell me about yourselves. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future… stuff like that."

"Hey sensei, tell us a bit about yourself first," Naruto asked. "As your students, we should know more about _you_ as well."

"Mm… _no_."

This answer caused Naruto to face-vault in shock.

"What do you mean, 'no'!?"

"I asked you guys first, so you guys tell me about yourselves _first_. We'll start with the blond girl. I now dub thee Blondie. Begin."

"My name is Daitaki Kimi. I like training and sleeping. I dislike idiots and _pink_." The last comment caused Sakura to glare at her. She continued, "My hobbies… I have none unless you count sleeping. My dreams… become a powerful kunoichi."

"Next, Pinky. Go."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like… no… who I like…" She glanced at Sasuke. "Hobbies…" she glanced at Sasuke again. "Dreams for the future…" once again, she looked at Sasuke and finally squealed.

'_I think I like Blondie better than that love-obsessed Pinky,_' Kakashi thought, deadpanning.

"So… what exactly is your dislike?" he asked casually.

"Naruto!" which caused said boy to face-vault and Kakashi to once again, deadpan.

"Alright, other blond. Go."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I dislike the three minutes it takes for cup ramen to cook, stuck-ups, and people who pick on others weaker than them. Hobbies? I like training and eating ramen. My dream is to become Hokage, marry, and settle down.

"What are your likes?"

"Um… ramen…"

Kakashi sweat-dropped. '_What's with this kid and ramen?_'

"And…"

Naruto began twiddling his fingers suspiciously. Kakashi knew this. He knew how Hinata did this every time she talked about Naruto. He had seen it. Now Naruto was doing it, and he was wondering why. Why would a normally stoic but easily-angered Genin do such a thing? Then, it hit him. Hinata did this when she talked about Naruto, her _crush._ Therefore, he must be talking about _his_ crush. Hohoho.

"And?" Kakashi asked, already having guessed what the blond ramen-loving boy was going to say.

Naruto continued twiddling his fingers and mumbled something under his breath. Kakashi heard it, but he knew the others didn't. He decided to be cruel today...

"What did you say? Sorry, I couldn't catch that."

Naruto breathed in deep and gathered his courage. He closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer, which Kakashi didn't miss either.

"I also like…" Naruto's face became a deep crimson. "...Kimi-chan. She is someone I'd protect with my life. She's my _best_ friend, and probably one of the few that actually understands my feelings."

Kimi flushed slightly, the implications of what he had just unknowingly said causing this. '_He'd protect me with his life?_'

'_Best friend, eh?_' Kakashi reminisced about his past, his friendships, his best friend. Now was not the time to dwell on such things though. He had things to do. Kakashi thus returned to the topic at hand.

"Alright Naruto, I now dub thee Ramen. Finally, you there, the angsty emo. Go."

Sasuke sent a short glare at the Jounin for the insult, but continued on regardless.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes, and many dislikes. My dream… no, ambition… to revive my clan and to kill a certain someone…"

'_Cool!_' thought Sakura.

'_He better not mean me,_' thought Naruto. '_Though if he was, I'd kick his ass so damned hard he'd land in yesterday._'

'_Pft, what a showoff,_' thought Kimi. '_Kill a certain someone, pft._'

'_Ah, just as I expected. An avenger,_' worried Kakashi. '_This isn't good. He's going to become obsessed with this revenge._'

"Hmm… alright kids. Tomorrow, we will do a survival exam. Meet me at the training grounds specified in this paper at seven in the morning," he said as he passed four sheets of paper around. "This test will conclude whether or not you are truly ready for the rank of Genin. This survival exam will weed out good Genin from the bad. If you don't pass… you will get sent back to the academy. Unfortunately for you dopes, this test has a - Heheh – sixty-six percent fail rate."

He began to leave but stopped in his tracks, turning around to glare at them.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Don't eat breakfast unless you want to _puke_."

"You still haven't told us anything about yourself, sensei," Sakura reminded him. "You said that you'd tell us about yourself after we did."

"You're right! The name's Kakashi. See ya!"

Before Naruto could pound him into the ground, Kakashi Shunshin'd away, leaving a very angry blond. While Naruto shook his fist in the air, swearing revenge on the gray-haired Jounin, Sakura took the next moment to ask Sasuke out on a date. She got the usual answer, which was a no. Undaunted, she followed him out of the roof, leaving Naruto and Kimi alone.

Naruto then realized that the two were alone, and shifted uncomfortably, and made to walk away when Kimi grabbed his wrist.

"Naruto… did you really mean what you said?"

Naruto stayed silent for several moments.

"Yes… I meant it. You're very precious to me Kimi. You were the third person to acknowledge me for who I was, if you count Teuchi-ojisan and Sandaime-jiisan. You, Iruka-sensei, Teuchi-ojisan and Sandaime-jiisan. All of you never discriminated against me. Because of that, I will protect you all."

Naruto was very surprised when Kimi hugged him.

"K-Kimi-chan, w-what…?"

"Naruto, you are also very precious to me. You and the Hokage are the only ones that understand me. You're my only friend… my best friend. Without you, I'd be nothing, just another loner. Just another friendless girl. Thanks, for everything."

They were silent for a few moments, as Naruto hugged her back, holding on as if she would disappear at any moment.

"Don't ever leave," he whispered.

----

Well, this is the revamped second chapter. I've made many god damned changes to the chapter, though it's not as revamped as I hoped it would be. It's actually more of a rewrite in more descriptive format. ". This chapter was 8,300+ words, as compared to the previous 2,600. Sigh. Next chapter, I'll be editing the fluff to be less fluffy and more gradual. Okay? Good.

On another note, the difference between blond and blonde is this. Blond means: A man with blond hair. Blonde means: A woman with blond hair. Blond is the actual hair color, while the other Blond and Blonde states a person rather than a description. (Blonde is used rather than the entire 'A woman with blond hair'. Get it? Yeah, it's really confusing, and I mean _really_ confusing. Oh, and how do I do blond(e) in plural? OO Especially when I'm talking about both Kimi and Naruto... TT

**Vocabulary**

_Daitaki _**Kimi –**_Great Waterfall _**Without Equal**

Baka - Idiot

Bunshin – Clone

Hitai-ate - Forehead Protector

Kyuubi no Youko – Nine-tailed Demon Fox

O-hitsuji – Ram

Ojisan – Uncle

Youkai – A type of demon that includes kitsune in its list.

**Jutsu List**

_General_

**Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) –**E-Rank – This technique creates any number of illusions. These illusions have no physical body, and serve only as a distraction or as a feint. Because they cannot do damage, many shinobi pass over this technique in favor of other Bunshin that actually take a physical manifestation.

**Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) –**E-Rank – This technique allows the user to transform into anything, as long as it's not too small, or too large. For example, one cannot transform into a speck of sand, or into an elephant. The user runs chakra through their body and expels it, creating the illusion of the transformation. The chakra itself takes physical form, which is why the transformations feel real.

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) **– B-Rank – Unlike the normal Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creates real flesh-and-blood copies of the user. They can fight, experience emotions, and perform jutsu just like the user. When using jutsu though, they have to use the store of chakra that was placed in them during creation. The amount of chakra in Kage Bunshin can be altered.

**Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) –**E-Rank – Using this, a ninja can replace themselves quickly with an close-by object of their choice. Replacing moving and living beings are much harder to do because of the varying weight and movement of the target. This technique is used to create a distraction to strike the enemy, or to allow for a ninja to escape. It is quite useful for avoiding attacks or to hide temporarily.

**Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) –**D-Rank – This jutsu allows the user to move at high speeds, with an onlooker often mistaking it for teleportation. The user uses chakra to boost their speed and reflexes, the jutsu requiring more chakra as the distance that the user needs to travel increases. Any extra things, such as flying sand or leaves, serve as a distraction for the user's movement, and perhaps for a bit of style as well.

_Suiton_

**Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Barrier)** – B-Rank – Kirigakure's ultimate defensive jutsu for everyday shinobi, this creates a swirling barrier of water around the user and his/her allies. The water protects against any projectile weaponry and Katon and Suiton jutsu, but only that. It also guards completely against taijutsu, as anyone foolish enough to perform taijutsu on the barrier will be sucked in and will be spun around through the barrier, leaving him/her open to attack.

**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Blast) –**B-Rank – The user uses a huge current of water to rise and take the shape of a serpentine dragon which launches itself at an enemy. Though not particularly powerful compared to some of the stronger Suiton jutsu, it requires an amazing fifty-four hand seals to perform, because of its complexity in shape and nature. While inefficient when performing the technique, it is very versatile in sweeping away enemies, which allows for the user to prepare for their next attack.

_Katon_

**Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast) **– B-Rank –The user emits a large stream of flame from their mouth, which takes the form of a dragon. The fire is extremely hot and very powerful, and is not unlike a flamethrower in its execution. On contact, the dragon dissipates into a ball of fire that envelops the enemy.

**Katon: Yurika no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Lily Technique) –**A-Rank – The user breathes in deeply, expanding their lungs to a normally impossible size with the assistance of chakra, and breathes out a great many fireballs. The fireballs themselves are the size of the ones emitted by Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, and are just as strong. In return for such power, a huge amount of chakra is used to perform this technique.


	4. Genin Exams and Festivals

**Precious Person**

Chapter 3: Survival Exam and the Festival**  
**

**C-Rank Mission**

-Wave mission – 1

-Mist mission – 2

Place your vote!

----

---The Next Morning---

Naruto slowly woke up from his slumber. Yawning, he checked his clock. It read 6:00AM. Kimi had already left, it seemed, so he showered and ate some ramen. Brushing his teeth slowly, he wondered what the survival exam would consist of. Dressing in new clothes, as he hadn't had time to wash his jumpsuit, he checked the clock again. It read 6:00AM… "NANI?"

Naruto quickly dashed out the apartment and sprinted at top speed to the training grounds. He soon arrived, yelling "Sorry I'm late… eh?" Naruto glanced around, seeing 3 pissed off kids without the presence of a teacher.

"Yo!" said a voice behind Naruto.

"You're late!" screeched Sakura.

"Haha, sorry but I got lost on the road of life."

"Liar…" muttered Kimi.

The 4 genin heard a jingle. Looking to the noise, they noticed Kakashi had with him 3 bells. "Yosh, you guys' objective is to take these bells from me before noon." He said as he set the alarm clock. "The one that doesn't get a bell will be tied up to a log while we all eat lunch in front of you."

Suddenly 3 genin with the exception of Naruto heard their stomachs growl.

"You guys will need to come at me with the intent to kill. Now, GO!"

In a few minutes, Kakashi checked the surrounding area. '_Good. They are well hidden._'

Meanwhile, Kimi had forcefully dragged Naruto away from the clearing and into the underbrush. "Look, there's no way a single genin can take on a jounin, so lets work together to get the bells."

Naruto readily agreed. "Yosh, so here's the plan…"

Kakashi waited patiently for an attack by the genin, but none came. "You know, time is on MY side," he said out loud. He suddenly noticed several kunai shoot at him from the trees.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" he yelled as he pulled out his own kunai, aiming to deflect those coming at him. Imagine his surprise as the kunai cut right through his own and hit his face. As he flew back from the impact, he was replaced with a log.

In another area, Kakashi wiped his sweat and sighed in relief. "Chakra enhanced kunai… that was a close call. I guess I can't underestimate these kids."

"**Suiton!**" Kakashi looked surprised. "**Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

As he dodged the water dragon, Naruto appeared behind him. Thrusting a kunai, he aimed to cut the bells' strings. Avoiding the kunai, Kakashi kicked Naruto, who puffed into smoke. '_Kage Bunshin!_'

He heard two voices shout out jutsu.

"**Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!**"

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

'_Shit!_' thought Kakashi. He chakra-jumped into the air, only to meet with shuriken. He Kawarimi'd to the floor and met Naruto in taijutsu combat. Behind him, Kimi yelled "**Suiton: Teppodama!**" Naruto flipped up to let the water cannons fly under him to assault Kakashi, as he prepared another jutsu.

"**Kage Bunshin! Tayjuu, Katon: Yurika no Jutsu!**"

Kakashi was forced to Kawarami again to dodge the massive fireballs. Naruto rushed at him and he became occupied with Naruto and didn't seem to notice Kimi sneak in and cut off two bells.

Seeing this, Naruto grinned. "That's all for now, Kakashi-sensei! Sayonara," he said as he ran away. Kakashi wondered why Naruto had abruptly ended the fight, when he noticed the missing bells. '_Impressive…_' he thought.

----

Kakashi returned to the field and closed his eyes to think. Taking the opportunity, Sasuke launched a volley of shuriken, which Kakashi Kawarimi'd from. Kakashi then ran after Sasuke. Meanwhile, Naruto and Kimi had found Sakura wandering around.

"Oi, Sakura! We can help you get the bells!" Kimi offered.

"Shut up. I don't need help from _losers_. Where's Sasuke-kun?"

"Ah… he was over there…" Naruto pointed. "That's beside the point, beca-WAH!"

Sakura pushed him aside. "Sasuke-kun! I'm coming!" Naruto and Kimi sighed, as they followed her. They soon found an unconscious Sakura. "Che," said Kimi. "Fell for a simple genjutsu."

While Kimi revived her, Naruto stood as lookout.

"Unh" groaned Sakura. "What happened? Where's Sasuke-kun?"

"Forget him! We can help you get the last bell. Naruto and I got two already. See?" she said as she dangled a bell. Suddenly Sakura lunged, trying to steal the bell. "Give me the bell! Give it to me, NOW!" Kimi looked at Sakura with pity.

Naruto distracted Sakura by yelling, "Look! Sasuke's decapitated head!"

Sakura turned around, screamed, and fainted. Sasuke, caught in a ninjutsu, sweatdropped. He looked to Naruto and Kimi for some support. After they dug him out, he asked how they had gotten the bells.

"Teamwork," they both said in unison.

"Let's forget Sakura, and together we can get you that last bell," said Kimi. At this, Sasuke nodded his agreement.

----

Kakashi was very disappointed in Sakura. Not only had she fallen for a simple genjutsu, she had also ignored her teammates and tried to steal their bells. He was forced out of his thoughts as he heard several voices.

"**Suiton: Teppodama! Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu! Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**"

He quickly dodged the water cannonballs, got singed by the dragon in a complicated twist, and Kawarimi'd out of the fireballs. He saw Naruto chucking shuriken at him. Assuming they were chakra enhanced, he jumped up. Sasuke intercepted him with aerial taijutsu, but Kakashi kicked him away.

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**" yelled Kimi.

Kakashi attempted to dodge again, but he was caught by wires and tripped.

Naruto flew through hand seals at this opening and yelled, "**Katon: Yurika no Jutsu!**"

Kakashi barely dodged the giant fireballs, and then met up with Naruto and his Kage Bunshins in Taijutsu. Kimi rushed in, but Kakashi saw this and made sure to kick her away this time. Naruto backed away suddenly though, with a grin. Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw he had lost the last bell. -Jingle-

He turned around and saw Sasuke having possession of the last bell. Kakashi understood. Using the same strategy, they had made Kakashi concentrate on Kimi, who had stolen the bells last time. While his attention was turned away, Sasuke closed in and stole the remaining bell. Kakashi congratulated the three on their impressive teamwork. Suddenly, they spied Sakura staggering out of the forest. "Sasuke-kun!" she yelled as she ran over to them. "You got a bell! You are so cool!"

"…" They were all silent as they sweatdropped. Soon Sakura was tied up to the log, with the 3 others standing beside her. Kakashi gave her a sad look. "Sakura, I'm very disappointed in you and the way you acted out there. Even when Naruto and Kimi generously offered to help you, you turned them down and continued your obsessive search for Sasuke. Naruto, Kimi, and Sasuke passed, but I'll give you one last chance Sakura," said Kakashi. "Don't screw up this time."

Sakura looked down at the floor with dejection. Naruto stared at Sakura, then back at his food. He sighed, and held out his lunch to Sakura. "Sakura needs to be at full strength for her next test. And besides, I accidentally ate breakfast today," he said sheepishly.

"A-Arigatou, Naruto," stammered Sakura. "Demo, I can't use my hands…" Naruto sighed and began feeding Sakura, while Kimi watched his actions.

'**You wish he were feeding you, huh?**'

'_WAH! Don't scare me like that, and no I don't._'

'**Sure you don't. Admit it you're jealous.**'

'_I am NOT!_'

'**Whatever… I guess Sakura can have him all to herself then, neh?**'

'_Like hell she will!_'

'**Hah! See? You DO like him.**'

'… _Ah shut up…_'

'**The least you can do is admit it.**'

'_Fine, fine, I do like him. Now shut up._'

"Oi Kimi." Naruto waved his hand in front of her blank eyes. "Earth to Kimi, do you read?" Kimi's eyes snapped to attention. "S-Sorry, I spaced out for a while back there." After several more minutes, Kakashi returned. "Okay, you guys ready? Cross this river using…" he dropped several planks of different sizes. "…these."

'_Yosh! I'll work with everyone and pass this exam so I can be with Sasuke-kun!_' thought Sakura.

In 45 minutes, they had made it halfway across the river. After wasting much time, Kimi decided to strike at the core and pulled Sakura aside.

"Look Pinky, I know you want to pass, but can you take your damned attention off Sasuke for even an hour? He can take care of himself, but Naruto's not so good when it comes to balance. Help out where help is most needed. Got it?"

"A-Alright," muttered Sakura.

In another half hour, they had made it across to find Kakashi snoozing. After waking up, he walked over to them. "Congratulations. It took you a lot longer than any other team would have finished this, but you did pretty well after your chitchat with Kimi, Sakura. I suppose you can give her the credit for helping you pass. I'll meet you guys here, same place at 6am. Dismissed."

While Sakura and Sasuke parted ways from their new genin team, Naruto began training and Kimi dozed off next to a tree. It was about 4:30pm when Naruto stopped his training and walked over to Kimi. "Oi, Kimi-chan. Wake up. Let's go home." Kimi didn't move a muscle. Naruto crouched down. Poking her, he tried to wake her up again. "Kimi-WAH!" In her sleep, Kimi had turned around and pulled Naruto down next to her. Noticing just how close they were, he became slightly uncomfortable.

When she snuggled closer to him, he blushed brightly. Naruto sighed and looked up to the heavens for some sort of help. "God help me… this is going to be a long night," he muttered.

----

It was morning, and Naruto was still trapped in between Kimi's arms. No matter what he had tried, she didn't and wouldn't wake up. Naruto turned a tomato red as she nuzzled his chest. '_If this continues any longer, my face is going to be permanently red…_' he thought. Soon, it was time for the meet up and Sasuke had showed up with Sakura in tow.

Sakura looked shocked at the sight. "N-Naruto! What are you two doing?"

After Naruto explained what had happened, Sakura sighed. "Actually, this is sort of both a blessing and a curse," Naruto said. After 3 hours, Kakashi showed up on the scene. Before Sakura could belt out a "You're late!" he had spied Kimi and Naruto. "Ohoho! Naruto you sly dog!"

If glares could kill, Kakashi would have died on the spot. "It's not like that!" Kakashi put on an amused smile under his mask. "Sure it isn't." Naruto boiled on the inside, and promised to prank Kakashi so bad that he would never be messed with again.

"Unh…" The 4 stared at Kimi. "Damn, who turned the lights on…?" Kimi grumbled. She opened her eyes to see Naruto's chest. "GAH!" she bolted up, her face as red as if she had eaten a box of jalapenos. "I…you…what…" she stuttered. Kakashi chuckled. "How was your sleep, Kimi?"

'_Uh oh. If I say it was comfortable, then they start getting ideas. If I say it was uncomfortable, Sakura might make a move on Naruto…_'

'**Just tell the truth, brat.**'

"Umm… it was… comfortable." Kakashi pondered for but a moment. "Naruto as a pillow, or Naruto as a teddy bear?"

"Ah…" she blushed. "Both…"

Naruto heard Sasuke snicker, and narrowed his eyes. "What are you laughing at, Sasuke-teme?"

"This," he said as he pulled out a recorder. Naruto's eyes bugged out and Kimi fainted. "Heh, with this I can blackm-HEY!" A Kage Bunshin from behind had snatched the recorder from his hands and destroyed it. Sasuke frowned. "Ah dammit."

Naruto ran over to Kimi and kneeled down. "Kimi-chan, wake up!" he said as he repeatedly poked her stomach. "Urgh…" she got up and whacked Naruto on the head. "Itai! What was that for?" Kimi grumbled, "For continuously poking me." Naruto pouted. "Anyway, I destroyed the recorder. Everything's fine."

"Well, now that we are all ready, let's go grab ourselves some missions!" Kakashi said. "Onward!" Naruto was excited, unknowing what was in store for him and his teammates. "Yosh! My first mission!"

----

Later…

"Gah! This is ridiculous!" Naruto complained. It was true; the missions they were doing were so mediocre that even a normal person could accomplish them. Their first mission had been mowing a lawn with grass that reached 5 feet. Though Naruto had finished it easily by using Kage Bunshins, it still didn't change the fact that these missions were ridiculous.

After their 4th worthless mission, Naruto began complaining to the Hokage. "Oi, old man! Why do we have to do all this stupid crap?"

"Watch your mouth in front of the Hokage, Naruto." Iruka scolded.

"It's fine Iruka. Anyway Naruto, it's because we believe you haven't been trained to the point where you can handle life or death missions. We will begin giving you C-Rank missions once your jounin senseis approve of your skills." Naruto pouted but agreed… for the moment.

----

3 days of stupid missions later…

"Alright guys. The rest of the day belongs to you. Ciao," he called out before poofing away. When Sakura and Sasuke had gone out of earshot, Naruto turned to Kimi.

"Ne, Kimi-chan."

"Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto shuffled his feet while staring at the ground.

"Is the ground interesting, Naruto?"

"N-No. What I'm trying to say is… D-D-Do you… ah… want to… umm… go with me to the festival tonight?"

Kimi was silent as she thought of his proposition.

'_Ooh, is he asking me out? What do I do?_'

'**Accept.**'

'_Huh?_'

'**Accept his offer. He seems like a good kid, and he's also a fellow jinchuuriki. He can truly understand your pain.**'

'_A-Alright. If you say so…_'

"S-Sure Naruto. Get ready by 7 and we can leave together."

"Alright! I'll be ready by 7 sharp!" he yelled as he ran off.

"I need some new clothing," he thought as he ran to the market district. Before entering though, he performed a Henge and turned into a dark haired boy without whiskers. He then entered a semi-expensive clothing store and began browsing for anything suitable for the festival.

After much thought, he picked out an orange gi, a black hakama, and a dark blue haori with black edges. Paying for his purchase, he left the store and went home to prepare for the festival.

It was 6:30 when Naruto showered in preparation for the festival. After putting on his new clothes, he gargled with mouthwash before exiting the room. At 7, Kimi came out of her room in an expensive looking gold kimono with white edges and a blue sash around her waist.

"Wow…" he breathed.

'_Her kimono compliments her hair nicely…_' he thought.

"Shall we go now, Kimi-chan?"

She smiled. "Yes, lets."

They arrived at the festival, finding it already very lively. Passing by a bookstore, Naruto swore he saw Kakashi buying a stack of strange orange books…

Naruto soon spotted a shuriken throwing booth with a sign reading: 'Ninja only.' Deciding to try his throwing skills, he stepped up to receive 5 shuriken. The aim of the game was to hit all 5 targets in the bulls-eye with 5 shuriken.

Taking careful aim, he threw his shuriken and successfully hit all his targets. Letting Kimi choose the prize, she picked a small weasel doll, and they then left the booth. Going off to different stalls and booths, they finally decided to stop at a food stall. As Kimi sat down on a bench, Naruto quickly returned from the stall with some dango and tea.

As they sipped their tea, Naruto wondered why he saw a white haired man running from a mob of angry women. Kimi noticed this as well and they both sweatdropped.

-**BOOM**-

Startled, Naruto and Kimi rushed over to the source of the explosion to find a smoking Shikamaru. "Oi, Shikamaru. Wake up. What happened?" asked Naruto as he helped him up. "-Cough cough-. I was force-fed explosive jalapenos by Ino. –Cough- How troublesome…"

Leaving him to his own machinery, Naruto spotted an interesting stall. "Hey, look over there Kimi-chan. Let's go get some masks." Walking over to the stall, they saw that it had a large assortment of masks to choose from, of which they were similar to an ANBU's mask.

"Mmm… Let me guess, you want a weasel mask, neh?"

"Heheh, how did you ever guess?" she giggled.

"I'm just psychic like that…" he replied as he paid for their fox and weasel masks. As the night wore on, Kimi led Naruto to a secluded bridge close to the festival.

"Ah… Naruto… I have something to tell you…"

"Go ahead, Kimi-chan."

"Ah… you know how you're the Kyuubi's container, right?"

"Yeah."

"Remember in the past, when you asked me why I left Kirigakure? It was because I was also a demon container. Because of that, I was the target of an assassination when I was younger. My demon, the Rokubi, saved me."

"Wow… we truly are similar in many ways."

"At first, I never told you about it, because I was afraid you would turn me away like everyone else did…"

Naruto took her hand. "Kimi-chan… I would never turn away the most precious person of my life." She turned to view his serious face. "Naruto…"

Deciding to take initiative, he dipped his head, giving her a kiss on the lips. Kimi's eyes widened, but closed them as she savored the kiss.

As he lifted his head, she gave him a bright smile.

"Ano… I guess we can be considered a couple…" Naruto said while he scratched his head.

"Yes… it seems we can," she said with a smile.

----

They entered their apartment that they had gotten a week ago, courtesy of the Hokage.

-FLASHBACK-

"Oi, old man. Why did you call me and Kimi here?"

The Hokage sighed. "I understand that your current housing is small and inadequate. So, I decided to get you two a larger apartment. There are 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room." He tossed them two sets of keys. "Here are your keys." He scribbled on a sheet of paper and handed it to them. "And here's your new address."

"Thanks… Hokage-sama…" Naruto said with a smile.

Kimi bowed, before leaving with Naruto.

-END FLASHBACK-

As they went to their separate bedrooms, Naruto called out.

"Good night, Kimi-chan."

"Good night, Naruto…kun…"

----

All right, my longest chapter, and has romance to boot! Mwahaha! Also, review please. It's what keeps me typing these up and writing rough drafts during school. TT

**DemonPrince666- **Thanks for the review. It IS my first, but I have a vivid imagination, thank god.

**LbcLostKid- **Your wish has been granted. I have updated, and Naruto and Kimi have gotten closer. Hopefully they'll become even closer during the C-Rank mission.

**Genesis D. Rose**- I hope that you keep me on my toes so I can make this as best a fanfiction I can make it 

**She will always Live forever**- Thank all you beautiful people for the reviews.

**angel0fdestiny**- Your Naruto? It's MAH Naruto! Err, Kimi's heheh. Forget that I said that. .

**animeflunky**- Ah, it's going to be a mix of both. It will follow the normal storyline as best as possible, with differences in between. And yeah, Naruto will be stronger than he is in the anime/manga

Taijutsu – Body Technique

Ninjutsu- Ninja Technique

Genjutsu- Illusion Technique

**Suiton: Teppodama – (Water Release: Gunshot)**

**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu – (Fire Release: Mythical Fire Flower Technique)**

Arigatou – Thank you

Demo – But


	5. Drowsiness

**Precious Person**

Chapter 4: Drowsiness**  
**

**C-Rank Mission**

-Wave mission – 2

-Mist mission – 3

Place your vote!

P.S. I count unique votes. If one person votes 3 times, it still counts as 1 vote

----

'**Rokubi's speech**'

'**_Kyuubi's speech_**'

----

One week later…

Naruto and Kimi entered an armory. Fortunately, although the storekeeper didn't like him, he refused to neither do dishonest business nor drive away customers. It was how he always did business, he explained. Browsing through the man's large inventory, Naruto and Kimi decided to each get a pair of arm guards, black cloaks, gloves, and light body armor. Along with these purchases, they each bought a dagger and katana.

As they exited the store with all their new stuff, Kimi turned to Naruto.

"So… why are we buying these again Naruto-kun?"

"It's so we can wear these on our first ever C-Rank mission."

"How are you so sure we're going to get one… whatever. Let's drop these off at the apartment and meet up with the rest of our team."

----

"Alright. Today, we will be working on chakra control!" announced Kakashi.

Sasuke looked annoyed. "Why do we need to work on chakra control? If we can use the jutsu it doesn't matter, right?"

"Wrong, Sasuke. Although you may be able to use the jutsu, if you cannot control your chakra properly, you end up wasting valuable chakra. Once you master chakra control, it'll be easier to use a jutsu with less amounts of chakra with the same results."

"So, what will our training be then?" Sasuke asked.

"Tree climbing," was Kakashi's answer.

"What? What does tree climbing have anything to do with chakra, sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, let me rephrase that. You will be doing tree climbing WITHOUT the use of hands. Watch me." After he finished talking, he went over to a tree and began walking up the trunk without his hands.

"What this training does is to help you gather chakra more efficiently to use in your jutsus. If you don't gather chakra properly, you won't be able to go up the tree." Stopping at a branch, he threw down three kunai. Mark your progress with these kunai before you fall off the tree. Go!"

Sasuke and Kimi rushed forward after concentrating chakra. After taking 7 steps, he lost balance and gracefully landed on the ground. Kimi ran up 15 steps before she too had to jump off. Sakura on the other hand concentrated chakra and slowly walked up the tree to a high branch. "Heh, this is easy!"

"Huh. Well Sasuke, I guess not even the genius of the Uchiha clan is THAT good after all." Kakashi said airily.

"Shut up sensei!" yelled Sakura. '_Great, he probably hates me now…_'

"Well, to tell you the truth Sakura. It is easier for you to tree climb because: One. Walking up is easier than running up. Two. Your chakra capacity is lower than Sasuke or Kimi, so it's easier to manipulate your smaller chakra. Unfortunately, your chakra capacity is so low you'd probably wear out after doing a few bunshins." Kakashi informed her.

He then turned around to Naruto. "So… why haven't YOU gone up the tree?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "I can already tree climb."

Kakashi looked surprised. "Oh? Who taught you?"

"Old man Hokage told me that if I wanted to get stronger, I should practice tree climbing."

"Show us how good you are then, dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"Alright then." Naruto took a running start and began running up the tree. Every 5 steps, he jumped off to land on another tree and repeated the process. '_Impressive…_' thought Kakashi.

"Why does he jump off the trees like that?" Sakura wondered out loud.

Kakashi answered her question. "While running up the tree is harder than walking up a tree, jumping from tree to tree is harder than both. It's because every time you jump, you have to adjust your chakra to the new tree, further improving your chakra control."

He turned back to Naruto. "Since you can already do the advanced mechanics of tree climbing, let me ask you. Can you water walk as well?"

"Well, I can water walk, but I'm not so good at water walking during combat."

"Alright then. You three, practice your tree climbing. I'll help out Naruto with his _combat_ water walking, heheh." Kakashi said this with an evil glint.

'_Uh oh… I'm so screwed._' was the thought that ran through Naruto's mind.

As soon as he got on the nearby lake, he was immediately bombarded by kunai and shuriken. '_Shit, shit, shit, shit!_' Naruto thought while he tried to evade them all. "Grr, eat this!" he yelled as he threw some kunai and shuriken back at Kakashi. He deflected them all and then flew threw hand seals.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**"

'_Ah… crap._' Naruto jumped into the air and flew through his own hand seals. When he hit the water though, he went straight under. Kakashi sighed. '_Now I get it…_' When Naruto surfaced, Kakashi motioned him to come closer.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi explained what had gone wrong. "Ok Naruto, this is what happened. When you were going through your seals, you took your mind off water walking and when you tried to land on the water, because you had no concentration to cover your fall you went straight through. When you jump and land on water, you are required to pump some more chakra into your feet so you don't sink like you just did. Let's repeat that. Go!"

Naruto did as Kakashi instructed. After jumping over a large fireball, he once again flew through hand seals. When he landed, he was up to his neck in water. "Aw, dammit!" he yelled, half exasperated. '_Guess I didn't put enough chakra into my feet…_'

After 2 hours, Naruto had gotten the hang of water walking in combat, and he was very proud of himself. "Alright Naruto. This time, water walk using your hands." Kakashi told him. "NANI? Why do I need to do that?"

Kakashi explained it all very clearly. "One. Water walking using hands is even harder, and will help you control chakra better for certain jutsus that don't use hand seals and instead require concentration and elemental manipulation."

Naruto complained loudly. "Alright, alright, I'll do it." Naruto concentrated chakra, and did a handstand on the water. After 10 seconds he fell in. When he resurfaced, he began cursing. "Naruto! You have to put all your concentration into this." Kakashi scolded him.

'_Sheesh, isn't this training going overboard?_'

'**_Not at all, whelp._**'

Naruto looked shocked, and looked around for the source of the voice.

'**_I'm in your mind you stupid gaki._**'

'_Oh… Who are you?_'

'**_-Choke-. You can't even tell? I'm the great, the almighty, the Kyuubi no Yoko!_**'

'_Gee, selfish much?_'

'**_Ah shut up gaki. I can't have my container being weak, so do everything that one eyed freak tells you to, or I will plague your mind with disturbing images._**'

'_Alright, alright, geez._'

As the sun slowly set, Kakashi had them all stop their exercises. "Good job guys! Tomorrow, we will further our exercises." The four genin groaned. "See you all tomorrow at 6 am sharp. Adios."

Naruto slowly dragged himself home. He was dead tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. As he threw himself onto his bed, he could hear loud music from Kimi's room.

'_Ungh… why can't she turn off that infernal racket?_'

Naruto put his pillow over his head and groaned. '_Kami-sama, please help me…_'

----

It was morning, but Naruto felt miserable. He hadn't been able to go to sleep at all last night… Kimi had fallen asleep with her godforsaken music on, and it had prevented him from getting any rest. Dragging himself out of bed, he walked over to the kitchen and put some water on the stove.

He fought to stay awake while the ramen cooked, pinching himself to keep from falling asleep. Slurping up his ramen slowly, Naruto wished he didn't have to go to training today. Finishing his ramen, he attempted to get ready, but fell asleep on the living room floor…

"Geez! Where's Naruto?" yelled an annoyed Sakura. "Don't ask me where that dobe is, how would I know?" Sasuke retorted. Even Kakashi had arrived, though it was at 7:30. "I'll go check the apartment," Kimi told them before rushing off. Opening the door, she almost tripped over the sleeping body of Naruto. Crouching down, she took a deep breath and screamed into his ear, "WAKE UP NARUTO NO BAKA!"

"GYAAAH!" Naruto yelled as he shot up from the floor in surprise. "Ugh… what is it, Kimi-chan?" he mumbled, while rubbing his left ear.

'_Great… I'm probably going to go deaf…_'

"It's 8 o clock! Even Kakashi-sensei is waiting for you!" she pulled / dragged him outside. "Let's hurry up!"

When they finally arrived, they found Sakura snoozing, Sasuke leaning against a tree trying to act cool, and Kakashi reading his orange book. When Kakashi saw that they had arrived, he quickly pocketed his book and woke up Sakura. Turning to his genin team, he announced "Yosh! Today we will continue yesterday's training. If you improve enough, I may consider getting us a C-Rank mission."

"Zzzzz…" Naruto snored, causing Kakashi to sweatdrop.

'_Umm… I've never seen Naruto fall asleep during training…_'

"Anything happen yesterday, Kimi?" he asked.

"Ah… I left on my music when I fell asleep and he wasn't able to get any shuteye."

Kakashi was in thought. "Alright, we'll let Naruto sleep, as he's already far ahead of you three. Your objectives during chakra control training are to do your best to catch up to Naruto. Go!"

In Naruto's mind, he found himself in a damp, dark hallway filled with pipes. Curious, he followed the hall to a large door. Opening it, he saw a large cage with a seal on it.

"**_Oi, gaki. Welcome to my humble home… too humble…_**" grumbled Kyuubi.

"Eh, it needs some interior design…" Naruto commented.

"**_Pft, its YOUR mind, so YOU design the interior._**"

"That's too troublesome… maybe later."

"**_Bah, can't you give me a large pillow for me to sleep on, at the least?_**"

"Fine, fine." Naruto concentrated as hard as he could, and a giant pillow appeared.

"**_Thanks brat._**"

"Sheesh, it's hard enough getting you a pillow, and you expect me to do the interior designing as well?" complained Naruto.

Kyuubi chuckled. "**_One at a time, gaki. That's how you design in here. One at a time…_**"

"Oi, Kyuubi. What time is it in the physical realm?"

"**_Ah… about lunch time. Sayonara, you brat._**"

Naruto woke up groggily. "Urgh…" Kakashi walked over to him. "So you're finally awake. Let's train your water-walking for an hour, and then we can go grab lunch and a mission."

Naruto complied, and did his handstand on the water. After 5 minutes, he felt his concentration waver and flipped onto his feet before he fell in. Continuing like this, he managed to get a record of 10 minutes on a handstand by the end of the hour.

Kakashi was unusually bright today. "Yosh! Let's go eat lunch and then grab a mission. Any suggestions?"

"Ichiraku Ramen," was Naruto's immediate answer.

"Ichiraku it is! You have to pay for your own lunches though."

----

After Lunch…

"Alright your next mission is to baby-sit-"

"No!" Naruto yelled. "We're shinobi, not butlers! We should be doing missions that shinobi would do!"

"What do you think you're doing? You shouldn't turn down a mission!" yelled Iruka.

Kimi added to Naruto's statement. "He's right Hokage-sama. These missions can be accomplished by non-shinobi. It's a horrible waste of manpower."

"I believe they are ready for their first C-Rank mission, Hokage-sama," Kakashi added.

The Hokage was in deep thought. "Hmm…"

----

All right this is chapter 4. I'm prolonging the mission start till chapter 5 so that I can get more definite votes in. 2 and 3 are a bit close, and out of 1000 hits, and 15 reviews I only got 5 votes. 

And yeah, I know this chapter was short, but the next one should be longer.

Shinobi – Ninja

Gaki – Brat

**Genesis D. Rose**- Alright, so you want me to put Zabuza in the Mist mission? I already have an idea that might work.

**Sportygurl2006-** Your wish has been granted. -Update-

**Angel0fdestiny- **Thank you, thank you. It took me a while to write up the romancey scene, since I'm not a lovey dovey person.


	6. Unexpected Enemies

**Precious Person**

Chapter 5: Mission to the Mist – Unexpected Enemies.

"Alright then!" the Hokage declared. "Team 7, you will receive a C-Rank mission to the Mist Country. Your job will be to protect the client and his trade caravan from possible bandit and low rank nukenin attacks. He will be here shortly."

After the mission assignment, a door next to them opened to reveal a well-dressed man with short black hair. "Hello, I am Aroshi Tamano." He eyed Team 7. "Hokage-sama, would they be able to protect the caravan?"

"Of course, Tamano-san. They are one of our best genin teams, along with famous Hatake Kakashi as their instructor. I have complete faith in their abilities."

Tamano nodded. "If what Hokage-sama tells me is true, then I don't think I need to worry."

Kakashi turned to his group. "Alright, we'll meet at the eastern gate in 30 minutes. And no, I will not be late. Pack up 2-3 weeks worth of items."

"Sensei, why are we taking that long to get to the Mist?" Sakura asked.

"Easy, the trade caravans are heavily loaded and can only move so fast. Then they have to board a large boat that will also move slowly because of the massive added weight. Now hurry up and go pack."

They nodded and immediately head off to pack the necessary belongings.

Naruto and Kimi quickly entered their apartment to don their new combat clothing. After packing some clothes and extra weaponry, they exited the apartment to find they still had 20 minutes left.

"I have an idea, let's have some Ichiraku Ramen before we leave!" Naruto suggested.

"Sigh. Is ramen the only thing you eat? Whatever…" Kimi muttered.

After arriving at the ramen stand, Naruto went up to the old man. "Hey ojisan! I got my first C-Rank mission, but we still have plenty of time before we leave so we came here to eat up!"

"Ohoho! A C-Rank? Ayame, get Naruto here some miso ramen!" Turning to Kimi, he asked "Anything that you want, miss?"

She thought for a moment. "Pork ramen."

The old man turned and yelled again. "And a pork ramen!"

Their orders arrived and Naruto soon quieted down as he ate his ramen. While he ate like a madman, Kimi was pondering her own thoughts.

'_Mist Country… I haven't been back there since I ran away…_'

'**It probably hasn't changed one bit.**'

'_Yeah, you're probably right. I hope I do okay. I wonder how Naruto and the rest would fare in real combat._'

Turning around to look at said individual, her eyes bugged out at the huge pile of bowls that Naruto had already eaten.

"H-H-How can y-you eat s-s-so m-much?" she stuttered.

Naruto shrugged. "It's probably my metabolism or something." He looked down at his watch. "Time to go Kimi-chan." After paying for his massive meal, he headed for the east gate. Pulling up his hood and clipping his mask on securely, he arrived at the meeting spot to see Sasuke and Sakura waiting for the rest.

He and Kimi dropped down from the roof to find a very startled Sakura.

"Ah… ANBU-san? Have you seen a blonde spiky haired boy anywhere near here?"

"Ah, yes. Yes I did. He's right here in fact." Naruto took off his mask, with a grin plastered on his face.

"You BAKA! Why are you impersonating ANBU?" Sakura yelled.

Naruto looked confused. Looking at his orange shirt and black jeans, he shook his head in confusion. "Sakura, I'm not wearing standard ANBU clothing, so how can I be impersonating one?"

"Ah, shut up," muttered a defeated Sakura.

After the 30 minutes had passed, Kakashi dropped down from a roof, right on time. "Alright, we're all here so let's get a move on."

Following Tamano to a long line of horse-led wagons, he showed them around the caravan so they could become used to it. Leading them to the back, he gestured to a large group of men. "Here are the hired guards that protect the caravan."

Sakura spoke up. "If you have guards, why do you need us?"

"Ah, that's the thing. The guards can take the bandits, and have minor difficulties with the low rank nukenins, but C-Rank and higher wipe the floor with them. A C or higher ranking usually leads each group of nukenin. Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's head out."

The pace was very slow, and Team Seven soon learned that patrolling the long caravan was a must, even if it was boring.

"Geez, I'd think mowing a lawn would be better than this," muttered a very bored Naruto.

"I'll say… doing something is better than doing nothing," grumbled an also bored Sasuke.

Suddenly, the two heard a shuffling in the bushes. Tensing, the two boys cautiously neared the bush. Flinging it open, they were disappointed to find nothing. "Probably the wind," said a dejected Naruto.

"I wonder when we'll see some _real_ action." Sasuke wondered out loud.

"Probably in a few days," said Kakashi to two surprised boys. "We just started out, and bandits or low rank nin wouldn't know about our departure until a few days. Just wait it out, you'll see. If we don't get any action before we reach the first post, I'll teach you two a jutsu."

Naruto scowled. "He probably told us that because he knows there's going to be action before we reach the post. Stupid Kakashi-sensei…"

It was 3 days later, and Naruto and Kimi were making their usual patrol at the rear of the caravan. Suddenly, a flurry of shuriken surprised the two. Jumping aside, they drew their kunai in expectation of another attack. In the distance, Naruto heard the clash of metal, and knew that the rest of the team had engaged the enemy as well.

Turning back to the 5 nin that had emerged from the bushes, he and Kimi settled into loose taijutsu stances. Of them, he could see 4 of them had Mist hitai-ates and one had a Stone hitai-ate. One of the Mist nukenin went through hand seals and yelled out, "**Suiton: Mizu Shuriken no Jutsu!**" Easily dodging the mizu shuriken, Naruto went through his own hand seals.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" The large fireball burnt one of the nin to cinders. At this, the rest of the nukenin charged forward at the two genin.

"**Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu!**" yelled out the Stone nukenin.

Hit by the unfortunately fast cannonballs, Naruto was thrown back and into the rear of the wagon. "Urgh, that hurt… that guy is going to pay," he muttered as he climbed out of the back.

"**Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!**"

The Stone nukenin replied with a defensive jutsu. "**Doton: Doryu Heki!**"

Unfortunately for the Stone nukenin, his mud shield wasn't strong enough to keep the fire dragon at bay. It did absorb a lot of the damage though, so the nin escaped the jutsu with minor injuries.

'_Che, these guys are too easy. None of them noticed the Kage Bunshins that I sent to flank them._'

The enemy nins stayed at their position, not moving to meet the young boy in combat. It was probably the last mistake of their lives. Kunai embedded themselves into two of the nins' heads from behind. The Stone nukenin turned around, to see 3 Kage Bunshins.

"Never turn your back on the enemy…" Naruto whispered in his ear.

The Stone nukenin tried to twist, but it was too late and Naruto pierced his heart with his kunai. Clapping his hands to free the dirt, he turned around to watch Kimi's battle.

Kimi had it easier, only 2 nin and one of them were green. He was quickly taken out when he foolishly rushed at her and met with some friends of hers called shuriken. The remaining nin was smarter than the last, and stayed at a distance. Quickly boring of this, Kimi performed the necessary hand seals and yelled out, "**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

The enemy in turn yelled out, "**Suiton: Suijinheki!**" Absorbing the water dragon, he grinned. "**Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu!**"

He sent scalding hot water at Kimi, who shook her head at the opponent's foolishness.

"**Suiton: Suijinheki!**" she yelled out.

The Mist nin's eyes widened, while Kimi grinned. "You aren't the only one that knows that technique, _baka_. **Suiton: Teppodama!**"

The scolding hot cannonballs hit the Mist nin dead on. She walked forward to the squirming nin and shoved a kunai into his heart. Wiping her hands on her pants, she gave a thumbs up to Naruto, who smiled.

Walking over to Naruto, she grinned. "That was a nice warm-up, don't you think?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Yeah… too easy though. I'd have to say there were 3 D-Rank and 2 C-Rank nukenins in that battle. They underestimated us."

"Should we meet up with the rest of our team?" Kimi suggested.

Naruto agreed. "Yeah, let's go see how they did."

Walking up to the front of the caravan, they saw a smirking Sasuke, a reading Kakashi, and a shivering Sakura.

Naruto neared Sasuke. "Yo, teme. How did _your_ battle go?"

"Pretty good, dobe. The only thing that could possibly have gone wrong was that Sakura freaked."

Kimi scoffed. "Killing is what ninjas do, and she would know, what with that huge forehead and all."

Naruto chuckled at this remark and Sasuke smirked.

This time, Sasuke turned to Naruto. "I told you ours, now how did _your_ battle go?"

Naruto grinned. "Pretty good. Kimi and I gave 3 D-Rank and 2 C-Ranks the beat-down. Next time, they'll think before sending such weak nin into battle."

Sasuke frowned. "They underestimated us horribly. They only sent 5 D-Ranks and 2 C-Ranks at us. Kakashi probably could have taken them all, but where would be the fun in watching?"

Kakashi walked over to them. "Naruto, Sasuke. Did you notice there was not a single bandit in that raid? They were all ninja. Plus, from Naruto's description, one of them wasn't a nukenin. Something fishy is going on around here, and I want you two to keep on the lookout for clues. I'll be having a talk with Tamano-san at the first post."

"Hai!" the two said in unison.

Naruto and Sasuke continued to converse about their battles, and soon they had reached the trading post. Kakashi sauntered over to Tamano. "Ohayo, Tamano-san. Is there any reason why there was such a large group of ninja attacking us yesterday? Are you transporting something important?

Tamano looked nervous. "Y-Yes. At least, I believe it's important. 3 days before the mission statement, a cloaked man approached me. He gave me a large scroll and told me to transport it to the Mist. He said he would pick it up there.

"Hmm… Tamano-san. May I have a look at that scroll? Depending on its contents, I may have to reevaluate the mission difficulty."

"Yes, you may. Please follow me." He led Team 7 to the middle of the caravan and began browsing through one of the wagons. "Ah! Here it is." Tamano emerged with a large scroll in hand.

Kakashi examined the scroll. It seemed to have a jounin-level seal on it. Nothing he couldn't unseal though. Going through a few hand seals, he slammed his palm onto the scroll, causing the seal to break. Opening it, he scanned the contents.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "This! This is the entire schematics and blueprints of Kirigakure! It even has guard schedules, and all their positions. Trap locations, observation towers, and secret passages." He turned to Tamano. "Tamano-san, it seems the Hidden Village of the Mist has discovered that the scroll is in your possession and sent nin after your caravan."

He continued on. "During the raid, one of my students saw a Mist nin that wasn't a nukenin. It is most likely the nukenin were hired. And this scroll…" he pointed at it. "With it, someone could take over Kirigakure. Although I would like to confiscate it, we're still in a mission and I am obliged to stay until the end. Will you mind if I keep the scroll with me?"

Tamano's eyes widened. "No, not at all. It would be much safer with you anyway." Kakashi performed some hand seals, and once again slammed his palm onto the scroll. In a plume of smoke, he had contained the scroll into a smaller scroll, and dropped it into his kunai pouch. "There. No one would think that I have it in there. Now that we're at a trading post though, let's get some shuteye. We all need the rest."

Leading his tired team to a nearby inn, he rented 3 rooms and then had them line up outside the rooms. "Alright, Naruto and Kimi to Room 14. Sasuke and Sakura to Room 15. I'll take Room 16."

Sasuke looked shocked. "Oi, Oi! What is the meaning of this! Shouldn't Naruto and I be in the same room? Kakashi looked amused. "This is to build inter-team relationships. Be glad I got us rooms with 2 beds. Good night." A squealing Sakura dragged a fuming Sasuke through the door while Naruto and Kimi sweatdropped. "Well, that's that. Let's go to sleep Kimi-chan."

Taking off their combat clothing, they each slipped into separate beds. Naruto closed his eyes to sleep, while Kimi's mind wandered back to the 'incident'. Standing up, she walked over to Naruto's bed and nudged him. He turned around with a questioning look, and then his light bulb went off. "It's because we're going _there_ isn't it?" She nodded as Naruto scooted over to make room for her.

As Kimi lay in bed next to Naruto, her mind wandered once again.

'_If only Naruto would…_'

As if reading her thoughts, Naruto shifted and turned around, putting an arm around her waist.

'_Must be psychic or something…_'

She turned around to see an already sleeping Naruto. She snuggled closer to him, her head on his chest. She soon fell asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

----

It was morning, and Sasuke had been given a rude awakening by Kakashi with a bucket of ice-cold water. Sasuke was now very grumpy, and even worse was that Sakura was still hounding him.

Sakura opened the door to Naruto and Kimi's room and peered in. She 'eeped' and her red face immediately retreated from the door. "What? What is it?" Sasuke demanded. "Ah… they're… ah… sleeping together." This caused Sasuke's eyes to bug out. Wanting to see for himself, he opened the door to see Naruto and Kimi sleeping soundly on one bed. He immediately wished he had a camcorder.

Seeing as they were going to be late, he tossed a sock at Naruto's head. "Wake up dobe, we leave in 15 minutes." Naruto groaned and got up as Sasuke left the room. Rubbing his eyes, Naruto shook Kimi. "Ne, Kimi-chan. It's time to get up. We leave in 15 minutes." Kimi yawned as she sat up. Checking the clock, it read 4:15am. Cursing, she put on her armor and followed an already dressed Naruto out to the caravan.

Once they were all there, they set off to the port. Naruto was once again mindlessly bored, and spent his time chucking rocks at Sasuke. Annoyed, Sasuke retaliated, causing a rock war to start. After 15 minutes, the two boys declared a truce and continued on with the journey.

A tree shook suddenly. Sasuke quickly threw a kunai into the tree to hear a gurgled yell as a dead nukenin fell off the tree.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" yelled Naruto.

At this, the guards and Team 7 scrambled into position to face the incoming nin. Just as they expected the nins soon attacked, but in larger numbers. Naruto and Sasuke gave each other a look, and nodded.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" they yelled in unison. Burning up 3 unfortunate nins, Naruto and Sasuke were soon fighting back to back against 10 enemy nukenins. "We're so outnumbered," muttered Naruto. "Shut up and keep fighting, dobe!" Sasuke yelled. "I'll even the odds!" yelled Naruto as he performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

Meanwhile, Kimi fought off 5 nin while a frightened Sakura stayed behind her.

'_Tch, I can't keep protecting her for much longer… If she won't help me then she's useless…_' thought Kimi.

A kunai flew past her and grazed her knee. "Sakura, help me out god dammit!" Kimi yelled in desperation. Sakura looked at her, and then at the nin, and then back at her. She then ran off, screaming, "I don't want to die!"

'_Oh that WHORE! – Ugh._' While she was in her thoughts kunai flew at her from every direction. She attempted to dodge, but was hit in her left arm and right leg. '_When I get my hands on her…_' she thought as the nin surrounded her.

'**I'll give you the power to kill them.**'

'_Tch, only if you don't take over like the last time._'

'**Fine. It's a deal.**'

Kimi felt chakra surge in her body and smiled.

Naruto, Sasuke, and the nins they were fighting suddenly stopped, as they felt strange chakra nearby. Turning around, they spotted Kimi emitting a dark yellow chakra. She began chuckling to herself.

"What are you laughing at?" asked one of the nukenin.

"I'm laughing at… you fools," she said.

"Urk, NOW YOU DIE MONSTER!" he yelled as he ran forward.

"Wrong decision," muttered Kimi. In an instant, the nukenin was dead. She then launched herself forward at the nin, thus initiating brutal massacre. Once all the nin surrounding her had been killed, she collapsed to the floor.

Some nukenin broke off from Sasuke and Naruto to surround her again. "Kill her while she's weak!" one of them yelled as he ran forward. A blur of black and a flying head later, Naruto was standing in front of Kimi with his bloody katana. "You touch her, and I'll KILL YOU!" he roared. Flinching, the nukenins paused, and then retreated back into the forest.

Seeing their retreat, Naruto turned to Kimi and knelt down by her side. "Ne, Kimi-chan. Wake up, they left." He kept poking her until she whacked him upside the head. As she got up, she looked around. "What happened to the nin?" Naruto shrugged. "I cut one of their heads off, and then they all retreated. I don't know what happened."

At this, Kakashi appeared. "You guys are all right, thank goodness. I killed my enemies easily enough but 5 on 1 is not a pretty thing… Where's Sakura?"

Kimi glared at him. "That stinking whore ran away, leaving me to fend off 8 nin by myself." She scowled. "Probably hiding somewhere…"

Kakashi sighed. "That's what happens when you come from a sheltered family and become a ninja to find hot guys… I'll go find her and give her 'the talk'. You guys go on ahead without me." After he said this, he ran off.

Naruto looked pissed. "So she ran off eh? What a weakling."

Sasuke nodded. "I agree. Weak taijutsu, Academy level ninjutsu, no genjutsu. The only thing good about her is her intelligence."

Kimi shook her head. "If she truly was intelligent, she wouldn't have ran from battle. All her so called 'intelligence' is just memorized crap."

Naruto agreed. "Even Shikamaru is better than her, even if he is lazy. I bet she's only useful as a meat shield."

Sasuke chuckled. "Meat shields are useful. Very."

Kimi looked curious. "Sasuke, why are you talking so much all of a sudden?"

Naruto had noticed this too. "Yeah Sasuke? What is it about us that makes you so sociable?"

Sasuke smirked. "You're the only people that I can have an intelligent conversation with. I can go up to a girl and she'll stalk me and declare her love, but I can't have a smart conversation with her. I can go up to a guy and he'll call me a teme and ignore me because I'm better. You guys though… Naruto acts dumb, but on his missions he can talk pretty intelligent. And you Kimi, you're not a freaky fangirl."

Naruto and Kimi looked at each other. "We're normal… guess that makes the others abnormal."

"Well, back to the subject. What should we do about Sakura in battle?" Sasuke asked.

"If she won't support us, let her die I say," said Kimi.

"Hey look guys, it's the port!" Naruto yelled.

"Finally!" said a tired Kimi.

He turned to Kimi and Sasuke. "I'll be sleeping in the wagon with a kunai in the side. Wake me if there's trouble." They nodded an affirmative. As he crawled inside, he quickly fell asleep and found himself in a familiar room.

"Aw dammit…" he grumbled.

"**_You should be glad that I entertain you with my awesome presence, flesh bag!_**" said a pissed Kyuubi.

"I'd rather have a conversation with a sock." Naruto said.

"**_Huh, I guess you wouldn't want this 'power' then…_**"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there. Did you say you were going to give me power?" Naruto asked curiously.

"**_Ah so you ARE interested. Alright brat, I'll give you power._**"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?"

Kyuubi smiled. "**_Give up your hyper activeness._**"

Naruto agreed. '_A small price to pay for power…_' "Is there anything else that you could give me, baka fox?"

"**_Yes, there's one more power I would like to bestow upon you. It is the mastery of the 5 elements._**"

Naruto was very interested at this. "And I suppose I have to give something up again, like the others?"

Kyuubi was amused. "**_You catch on quickly brat. Yes, you need to sacrifice something, mainly your regrets. You will never regret your present and future actions once you sacrifice it._**"

"Alright. I'll do it if it will help me protect Kimi-chan." Suddenly pain coursed through his right forearm. Lifting up his sleeve, he saw a black tattoo going around in a line on his forearm. "What is this?"

"**_That, kit, is the tattoo that will grant you mastery and supremacy over the earth. With it, you will be able to control and manipulate the earth as you see fit. There are limitations though, but it is up to you to discover them._**"

"Wait… you called me kit… What's with the sudden change of name, fox?"

"**_Well, since I granted you power, it means that you are worthy as my container. As such, you are one of mine, and I'll call you kit from now on._**"

"And the tattoos… How do I get the others?"

"**_When I deem you worthy, I will call you back here so you can receive your next tattoo. That's all for now kit. See you later._**"

----

In the real world, Kimi shook Naruto desperately. "Naruto-kun! Wake up, we're under attack!" Naruto's eyes shot open and he stood up. "How long was I asleep?" he asked. "Three days." He silently exited the wagon and saw that they weren't on the boat anymore. He looked to his left to see a large man with a zanbatou, a younger boy with a hunter nin mask, and 20 nin behind the two. He walked over to them with Kimi and joined Kakashi and Sasuke.

Kakashi looked at the two shinobi. "So… Zabuza of the Mist and…"

"My name is Haku. A pleasure to finally meet the famous Copycat Kakashi."

Kakashi grimaced. "What do you want with the caravan?"

Zabuza grinned. "Easy. We want that scroll. With it, we could take over the Mist."

"Not going to happen, Zabuza!" Kakashi went into a taijutsu stance.

"Tsk, tsk Kakashi. I have the advantage in numbers." Zabuza made a waving motion with his hand, and immediately the 20 nin charged forward. Naruto walked forward and raised his hand. Immediately, spikes rose from the ground and impaled 5 nin, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

'_H-How did he…_' thought Kakashi.

'_That brat… he's strong…_' thought Zabuza.

'_How did he do that without hand seals?_' thought Kimi and Sasuke.

'_Finally… a worthy rival._' Haku thought.

Sakura stood behind Kakashi, steeling herself not to run.

'_Tch, he started things off… I'll help finish._' Sasuke thought as he ran through hand seals. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

The giant fireball incinerated 4 nin, and the rest, shocked out of stupor, attacked. They were quickly taken care of with the combined might of Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi. Kakashi looked back at Kimi and Sakura. "Kimi! Sakura! Protect the client! I'll take Zabuza on."

As the two neared the client, 4 more nin jumped out from the bushes and attacked them.

'_I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away!_' Sakura repeated in her head. She stopped and pulled out 4 kunai and threw them at the nin. Kimi looked appraisingly at Sakura. '_Seems she got over her fear… Good, now I can really fight._'

----

Naruto's Fight

----

As she and Sakura engaged the nins, Naruto and Sasuke faced off against Haku. Haku suddenly rushed forward, kicking at Naruto's head. He ducked and spun around to return a low kick. Haku jumped over it and threw a punch at Naruto. Catching it, he stared emotionlessly at Haku. The boy began doing one-handed seals while Naruto calmly looked on.

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**" he muttered and jumped away. Naruto immediately began focusing chakra into his feet and jumped high into the air. Charging up chakra into his kunai, he began flinging them at Haku. After avoiding the first one and seeing the crater it had made, Haku made note never to get hit by one of the blonde's kunai.

As he handed, Naruto went through his own seals. "**Katon: Yurika no Jutsu!**" Sending the giant fireballs at Haku, he went through more seals and yelled "**Katon: Karyu Endan!**" While Haku did his best to avoid the fireballs, a fire dragon came at him. He sidestepped only to find the dragon turning around and at him. He turned his head to see Naruto focusing chakra into the dragon to control its movements. '_I must disrupt his concentration…_'

Rushing forward, Haku performed one of the few Doton type jutsus that he knew of.

"**Doton: Tsuchi Zuhan Danmaku!**"

Large pieces of stone were flung at Naruto, who merely held out a hand to stop the incoming rocks. Turning his palm so that it faced the sky, he closed his hand into a fist. In doing this, the rocks merged together into a huge boulder. Naruto then drew his fist back, and then punched. Following his movement, the boulder rushed at Haku, who's only thought was, '_Aww, shit._'

Escaping within an inch of death, he landed and performed the necessary hand seals to perform his bloodline ability. "**Makyo Hyo Sho!**"

As he entered the mirror, Sasuke watched impassively. '_I'll help out if he needs it. It's his battle and I'll let him fight it…_'

His reflection mirroring on the other mirrors, senbon needles began flying at Naruto. Naruto merely flicked his hand upward for the earth around him to form a barrier. Haku watched as his senbon needles were deflected. '_Crap shit! If he keeps up that barrier I'll be wasting away all my chakra…_'

While he pondered his choices, Naruto began going through a long series of hand seals inside his barrier. '_Are you sure this is even a jutsu, Kyuubi?_' Kyuubi snorted. '**_It was used against me when I attacked the village. Of course I would know. Pretty destructive too, it will probably destroy all those ice mirrors. Of course, to get those fires started I'll lend you some of my power. Point your palms outward and it'll start fires for you. Oh, and I'll be giving you the chakra you need to use this jutsu. Don't waste the rest._**'

Pausing during his chain of seals, he clapped his hands together and then held them outward as he yelled the jutsu.

Suddenly fires started appearing on the outskirts of the mirror. Haku looked at the flames worriedly. '_How did these flames appear…?_'

Naruto then concentrated back onto his task. Finishing his final, dragon seal he yelled out one of the most destructive Katon jutsus in existence.

"**KATON: DAIKONRAN!**"

Kakashi paused as he heard Naruto's jutsu. '_It can't be… can it?_'

The flames suddenly rose up from the ground and morphed into large spheres. Haku was panicking. '_Oh crap oh crap oh crap! What the freaking hell is that?_'

The fiery spheres were still for a moment, and unexpectedly rushed inwards. When the spheres had gotten within 5 meters of his ice mirrors, he saw that they melted from the extreme heat. '_Aw freak oh crap! I have to get out of here!_' thought Haku. He quickly formed some seals and Shunshin'd away to Zabuza. The spheres stopped after the last ice mirror melted, then formed a line in front of Zabuza and Haku.

Noticing this, Kakashi immediately began backpedaling away from the spheres. '_It's best if I can stay at a distance, or else I might die…_'

Meanwhile, Haku pleaded with Zabuza. "Zabuza-san! We have to run, NOW! That boy's jutsu is insane! We'll die if we don't run!" Zabuza glared at Haku. "Shut it, Haku. I never run from a fight." Haku protested. "But Zabuza-san! You'll be killed!"

Pushing Haku aside, Zabuza went through the hand seals necessary and yelled out "**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**" The water dragon rushed at one of the spheres but evaporated before it could hit. Zabuza was struck speechless. Fortunately for him, Naruto had decided to give them a fighting chance and dispelled his jutsu. Emerging from the barrier, everyone saw the pained look on Naruto's face.

Kakashi nodded knowingly. '_Chakra exhaustion… That jutsu takes a monstrous amount of chakra._'

Naruto also knew of his own predicament and thought to himself. '_I'll have to finish this quickly…_'

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

They were all shocked; to say the least when 50 Narutos appeared and created a circle around Zabuza and Haku. Settling into taijutsu stances, they all quickly rushed in at the duo with surprising speed. Fighting back desperately against the surge of Narutos, they didn't notice that the real one had disappeared.

Naruto chuckled to himself. '_Make them waste their strength on Kage Bunshins while I hide out under them using a Doton jutsu. Brilliant._'

Zabuza had gotten rid of the last Kage Bunshin and saw the real Naruto in the distance. He was very tired out, and could not take much more. Haku was the same. As the Naruto came closer, their breathing quickened. Suddenly the ground behind them cracked and the _real_ Naruto jumped out. After quickly stabbing Zabuza in the back with 3 kunai, he jumped backwards.

Giving a look to Sasuke, he stood still. Sasuke, knowing his plan, moved stealthily into the forest. Nearing Zabuza, he got his kunai ready and aimed carefully for the man's heart. Naruto suddenly rushed forward. '_The signal!_' thought Sasuke as he threw his kunai. Zabuza, intent on Naruto, did not see the incoming kunai and by then it was too late. "ZABUZA-SAN!" yelled Haku as Zabuza hit the floor. Haku checked his pulse to find he was dead. '_Dead…_' he thought sadly.

'_Heh… mission… accomplished…_' was Naruto's last thought before he collapsed. Haku, seeing this, rushed at Naruto but was kicked in the side of the head by Sasuke. "You're fight's with me, loser." Sasuke taunted. Before Haku could gain his bearings, Sasuke rushed forward and punched Haku in the gut. Losing his breath, he could only watch as Sasuke initiated a combo.

'_3 punch combo to the gut. Kick to the jaw. Pick up by the foot and sling him into a tree… Throw him and knee his gut…_' was Sasuke's thoughts as he did exactly as his thoughts told him to. After the combo was complete, Haku gasped for air and coughed up blood. Sakura and Kimi soon showed up and watched the beaten Mist missing nin attempt to stand up. Sasuke threw a kunai at the boy. Haku's last thoughts were, '_I'm sorry… Zabuza-san…_'

----

Sakura and Kimi's Battle

----

After Sakura had thrown the kunai, Kimi rushed into the fray and roundhouse kicked one of the nin. While the nin was off balance, Kimi knocked him into the air with an uppercut, and then kicked him in the jaw to send him flying into a tree. She ended his life with a kunai to the heart.

Sakura had more trouble against her nin, but that wasn't surprising. She was after all, the weakest on the team. Rushing the nin, she was easily kicked aside. Getting back up, she quickly created two Bunshins and once again rushed the nin. Kicking the two Bunshin, he realized he wasn't able to kick the real one before she got to him. He pulled out a kunai to dodge the real Sakura, but was unpleasantly surprised when she went right through him. '_Bunshin! When did she…_' he was unable to finish the thought as she plunged a kunai into his heart.

Sakura shivered. '_My first kill… At least this time I was able to help my teammates…_'

Kimi ducked under a kunai and back-flipped over the nin. Blocking her stab with his own kunai, he slashed out to meet the air. '_Where did she go? Up, Left, Right, Forward, Behind…_' "BELOW!" yelled Kimi. Before he could react, she pulled him under with the words "**Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.**" She then slit the nin's throat before turning to the remaining nin.

"Alright, which one of you is next? Kimi asked.

Suddenly the nin turned tail and ran. She had not been expecting that. '_Damn coward…_'

Turning to Sakura, she held out a hand. "Good job out there. Remember that it's a shinobi's job to kill." Sakura nodded and took her hand. "Let's go find Naruto and the others." Kimi and Sakura walked for a few minutes and saw utter carnage. They saw the dead body of Zabuza and also saw Sasuke finishing off Haku.

Walking over to Kakashi, they asked, "What happened to Naruto?" Kakashi shook his head. "He used a Kage-level jutsu and then summoned 50 Kage Bunshins and weakened Zabuza and Haku for Sasuke. He then collapsed of chakra exhaustion." Kimi breathed out an "Amazing." Seeing that the battle was done, Kakashi went in search of Tamano while Kimi tended to a very tired Naruto.

"Ugh…" he muttered. "Next time I'm sticking with chuunin and jounin level jutsus." He stood up with the help of Kimi. "Hey Kimi-chan, take me to Zabuza's zanbatou." Kimi complied as he stood next to the former Mist nin's large sword. Gripping it, he heaved it up and laid it on his shoulder. '_Heavy ass thing… I'll be lucky if I ever become strong enough to wield it correctly._'

Kakashi soon returned with Tamano in tow. "Alright guys, great job back there. We leave for Kiri immediately. We should be there by sundown."

Kimi led Naruto to the wagon he was in previously and helped him inside. Naruto slowly closed his eyes, to rest for future battles…

Meanwhile, a pair of red eyes watched the caravan start up again. '_So, Naruto-kun… You have become strong… I hope that the day we meet, you will be even stronger…_' Itachi smirked to himself as he disappeared into the shadows…

----

CLIFFHANGER:o

This is by far my longest chapter ever, and I hope to write longer. I'm hoping the fic reaches 50+ chapters, and I have special ideas for after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc.

Yes, I know Naruto may be a little overpowered in this chapter, but you have to remember that Kyuubi told him the jutsu. Even with Kyuubi's chakra, he almost used up all of it. And If I didn't do it this way, the battle would end up the same as in the Wave Mission, no fun there.

**LbcLostKid**- Thank you for your review. Tada! I updated.

**Genesis D. Rose**- Thank you for your review. I gave Naruto the sword, and he should be around chuunin level at this time.

**AznAltron-** Thank you for your review. Yes, I'll make him do wind manipulation training, but not till later.

I thank all the rest of the reviewers as well for their support. E-mail me suggestions if you want to, e-mail is on my profile page. If you're too lazy to go there, here it is.

Ojisan – Uncle

Hai – Yes

Zanbatou – Very large sword

**Suiton: Mizu Shuriken no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Shuriken Technique)**

**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)**

**Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu (Earth Element: Earth Dragon Blast)**

**Doton: Doryu Heki (Earth Element: Mud Slide Barrier)**

**Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Cannon Technique)**

**Doton: Tsuchi Zuhan Danmaku (Earth Element: Earth Plate Barrage)**

**Makyo Hyo Sho (Demonic Ice Mirrors)**

**Katon: Daikonran (Fire Element: Pandemonium)**

**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Element: Inner Decapitation Skill)**


	7. Bloodline Unveiled

**Precious Person**

Chapter 6: The First Exam: Bloodline Unveiled!

Naruto woke up inside an inn. As he lay on the bed, his thoughts wandered to their last battle. '_I feel no regrets for yesterday's actions… figures, since I gave it up to Kyuubi…_' Sighing, he slowly stood up and exited the room. Walking to the receptionist, he asked if she had seen a silver haired man with a mask anywhere. Her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh yes! He told me to relay a message to you once you woke up. He said that you and your team had the day off."

Exiting the inn, he decided to visit some sword smiths to look for a replacement for his katana. '_Kiri is supposed to have the best weapons manufacturers in the entire continent… Let's see if the rumors are true._' He entered an indescript shop, and began browsing through some of the blades. '_These truly are high quality blades, except that none of them catch my eye…_' A voice behind him boomed, "Oi, paying customers only." Naruto turned to see the shopkeeper. "I AM a paying customer, but do you have any other blades? Quality matching my zanbatou..." The smith thought for a moment and gestured for Naruto to follow him.

Leading him to the back of the shop, he brought Naruto to a wall covered with blades. "These…" he said while waving his hand at the swords, "are chakra fangs. You activate it with some of your chakra and it will flare up and cover the sword. The chakra will sharpen and harden the sword, making it indestructible as well as being able to cut through anything."

Naruto was quite intrigued at this bit of information. Looking through the inventory, two blades caught his eye. The first, a midnight black katana with a black handle and gold trimmings. The second blade was a heavenly white katana with a black handle and red trimmings. Pointing at the two blades, he asked for a price estimate. The smith stared at the blades long and hard. "Well… the price per blade is 300.000 ryu, but since you happened to get a set, I'll sell both to you for 500.000 ryu." Naruto cocked his head. "A set?" The smith nodded. "These two katanas, Mizuki and Hikaru, were forged together for the purpose of being used together.

Naruto nodded and pulled out his precious frog purse. Finally counting out 500.000 ryu, he paid the smith. "Thank you for your patronage!" called out the smith. Sheathing his new blades, he strapped them to the back of his waist, one handle pointing left, one pointing right, to make dual wielding easier. He then went to a clothing store. Sifting through some clothes, he saw a dark orange hooded sweater that he liked. Taking it, he walked over to a tailor. "Sir, can you make the right sleeve black and have it delivered to Konoha in 2 days?"

The tailor looked kindly at the boy. "Of course I can. I'll send it over by mail-nin once I'm done." Naruto smiled, and went back to browsing the racks. Buying a new orange t-shirt, white long sleeved shirt, and baggy dark blue cargo pants; he walked up to the cashier to pay for his new clothing. He then went into a changing stall to put on the new cargo pants, put on his white shirt, then his orange shirt over it. Pleased at the new style he was wearing, put on his katanas and zanbatou and exited the store to look for a weaponry shop.

Seeing one, he entered. Coincidentally, Sasuke was at the same shop, sifting through the Fuuma Windmill Shuriken. Looking up he saw Naruto. "Oh, you're awake… and you bought some new stuff." Naruto silently nodded as he sifted through the kunai rack. Picking out the most aerodynamic ones, he paid for them and left the store with Sasuke. After several minutes of fruitless searching, they finally met up with Sakura and Kimi.

Naruto noticed that Kimi sported a chakra fang of her own, while Sakura stared at Naruto. "How can you afford all that? When Kimi was buying her blade I heard the pricing, but you bought _two_!" Naruto grimaced. "It's easy to have a lot of money when you can't spend anything in Konoha because the shopkeepers refuse to do business with you…" Following Naruto, they stopped outside a bookstore and spotted someone familiar inside.

"Kakashi-sensei! Buying more of those orange books?" Sakura asked. "Mmm… yes. Are you here because you're done with everything and want to leave?" Team 7 nodded. "Alright then, let's go." Team 7 exited Kiri and took a faster boat back to Fire Country.

It was soon night, and Team 7 decided to rest and continue on in the morning. Unable to sleep, he wandered through the forest until he entered a clearing basking in moonlight. He was surprised to see a lone girl standing at the 5 meters to his right. Sensing his presence, the girl rushed forward, pulling out a kodachi from her back and swinging. Instinct firing up, Naruto quickly unsheathed Hikaru and blocked the kodachi.

Noticing the leaf hitai-ate around her neck, he retreated and sheathed his katana. The girl too, had seen his hitai-ate and retreated. "What are you doing out here at this time of the night?" she asked. Naruto stayed emotionless. "I could ask you the same…" The unknown girl frowned. "I'm here training, what's _your_ excuse?" Naruto stared tiredly at her. "I'm returning from a mission from Kiri."

She stepped into the moonlight, giving Naruto the lighting he needed to get a better look at her. A girl around his age with long, dark-brown hair tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were also dark-brown, filled with life, and she wore a tank top with one strap on her left shoulder. On the right shoulder, instead of a strap she wore shoulder mail, and a long sleeve connected to the armor. She had on black jeans and strapped to her back were two kodachis.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. The girl hesitated, and then steeled herself. "My name is… Minari Kumiko. Leaf genin, 13 years old. How about you?" Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto, Leaf genin, 13 years old."

Kumiko looked Naruto over. He had spiky blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and strange whisker marks on either cheek. He wore dark blue cargo pants, and an orange shirt over a white long sleeved shirt. Strapped to the back of his waist were two katanas. '_He looks pretty cute… but I have to train for the Chuunin Exams and I can't waste it talking to him…_' Turning slightly, she grinned. "I'll hope to see you again," she said before leaving the clearing. '_Hmm… what a weird girl… she was pretty cute, but still weird._' Walking back to camp, and slipping into his camping bag, his thoughts wandered back to the encounter. '_See me… again…?_' was his last thought before he drifted asleep.

It was morning and Team 7 was packing up and clearing camp. Naruto decided to keep yesterday's encounter a secret. Once they were done, they head off and reached Konoha by sunset. The chuunin guards spotted them and called out "State your purpose!" Kakashi smiled up at them. "Team 7, reporting back from a mission!"

Once they walked past the gates and into Konoha, Kakashi turned to his team. "Alright guys, I'll go write up our report and turn it in. You guys get the day off tomorrow, but meet the day after tomorrow at 6:00am," Kakashi said before poofing away. Naruto sighed and slumped over. "I'm still exhausted… I'll just... rest here a bit…" His eyes slowly closed as he fell asleep.

----

Sudden shaking woke up Naruto. Looking up drowsily, he noticed that the person shaking him had dark-brown eyes. Eyes widening when he realized who it was, he staggered to his feet.

'_Huh… it's night already… WAIT A MINUTE! Why do I keep seeing her at night time?_'

"You shouldn't be sleeping out here during the night…" muttered Kumiko.

Naruto stared at her. "Why is it you always train at night?"

She dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. "That question's irrelevant. This caused Naruto's eyebrows to scrunch. "Are you stalking me?"

Because it was so dark, Naruto did not notice the girl's face flushing. "Are you insane? Why would _anyone_ want to stalk you! This was mere coincidence."

Naruto scoffed. "Two times in two days, both at night? Tell me why you only train during the evening and I'll drop all charges of stalking."

Kumiko grit her teeth. '_This guy's smarter than he looks._' "Alright, I'll tell you. I always train at night because my sense of sight is impaired. I use the darkness to hone my other senses. I bet you'd walk into the trees in this darkness though."

Scowling, he replied, "I have improved senses. I would never walk into a tree like a dumb girl."

Kumiko clenched her fist. "Care to repeat that?"

"Of course I will." Naruto taunted. "I said, I would never run into a tree like some _dumb, idiotic_, GIRL!"

He was surprised when she jumped him but quickly regained control and threw her off. "Geez, you don't have to be so violent about it."

Kumiko huffed. "Whatever…" Receiving only silence, she left to continue her training. Sighing, Naruto went back to sleep.

----

A large group of jounin and chuunin stood in front of the Hokage.

"You all know why we're here today," he announced.

"Can't believe it's already that time of the year…" Kakashi said airily.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes… the Chuunin Selection Exam will be starting in a week."

A jounin near the back was mildly surprised. "Wow, so soon?"

The Hokage nodded. "First up, the jounin teachers of the new genin… Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai… What are your decisions? Are there any genin that you want to recommend for the Chuunin Exam?"

The Hokage looked at the 3 jounin. "Kakashi, you start."

Kakashi nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I hereby nominate my genins, Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Hanari Kimi, and Uchiha Sasuke for the Chuunin Selection Exams.

'_What?_' thought a surprised Iruka.

Kurenai spoke up next. "I hereby nominate my genins, Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino for the Chuunin Selection Exams."

Asuma spoke last. "I hereby nominate my group of genins, Team 10, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji for the Chuunin Selection Exams."

The Hokage was surprised. "Hmm… All of the rookie genins… how rare…"

Iruka coughed. "Ah, if I may put in my words, Hokage-sama…" The Hokage nodded. "I may be speaking out of line, but these 10 were my students in the Academy. They are all talented, I admit, but I think it is much too early for them to be taking the exams… they need more experience."

Kakashi spoke up at this. "I became Chuunin when I was 6 years younger than Naruto."

"You were different from Naruto! Are you trying to crush them?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi sighed. "I can understand your feelings Iruka-sensei, but… Stay out of this. They are no longer your students… Now, they are my _soldiers._"

----

"Oi! Naruto nii-san!" A familiar voice caught Naruto's attention. "Ah! Konohamaru! How've you been?"

Konohamaru smiled. "We've been great, but remember you promised to play ninja with us today?" Sakura, who was behind Naruto, sweatdropped, as did Kimi. "What kind of ninja 'plays ninja'?" they asked.

Konohamaru looked at Sakura. "Hey nii-san, who's that woman over there?" A light bulb went off. "Ohoho nii-san!" he held out a pinky finger. "Is she your…?"

Naruto laughed. "Oh no, her forehead is much too large for… her to be…" Naruto suddenly had a very scared look. A very angry Sakura punched Naruto across the street. Konohamaru was shocked. "You ugly whore! How dare you attack Naruto nii-san?"

Sakura had a very scary look on her face as she cracked her knuckles. Soon, Konohamaru was lying next to Naruto. "Ugh…" he muttered as he helped Naruto up. "Is that huge-forehead really a girl?"

Naruto looked behind them to see a ballistic Sakura. Eyes bugging out, he grabbed Konohamaru and threw him forward. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" he shouted. Kimi could only watch as Naruto and Sakura continued to act like fools…

Konohamaru quickly turned into a corner and bumped into someone. "Ouch!"

"That… hurt…" said the person he had bumped into. Naruto turned the corner to see a guy with face paint towering over Konohamaru. "Konohamaru!"

The guy with face paint lifted up Konohamaru by the shirt. "That hurt you little piece of shit!" The female next to him glared. "Stop that, Kankuro. We'll get yelled at later…"

Naruto was pissed. "Let him go, you FATASS!"

Kankuro noticed Naruto's hitai-ate. '_Leaf ninja…_' He smirked. "Let's play a bit before _he_ comes."

Naruto flicked his hand upward, causing the ground underneath Kankuro to shatter. "GAH!" he yelled before he fell into the pit Naruto had created. "You son of a-!"

Naruto chuckled out loud. "That'll show you who the boss around here." Kankuro slowly climbed out of the whole. "You little piece of-!" He took the large bandaged thing on his back.

The blonde girl stared at him. "You're using Karasu?"

Suddenly a cold voice from a tree interrupted them. "Kankuro, stop it… You're an embarrassment to our village."

Kankuro began stuttering. "G-G-Gaara! When did you get here?"

"Losing yourself in a fight… how pathetic. Don't you even remember why we came here?" Gaara said.

"T-They started it and-"

Gaara interrupted. "Shut up… or I'll KILL YOU…"

Kankuro froze. "Ok, I'm sorry…"

Gaara turned to Naruto. "Sorry to you guys…"

Gaara Suna Shunshin'd to the ground next to Kankurou. "Let's go…" A voice stopped him. "WAIT!"

Gaara turned. Naruto stared at him. "What's your name?"

"Sabaku no Gaara… What is yours?"

"Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto…

----

It was morning, and Team 7 was impatiently waiting for Kakashi. Kimi checked her watch. '_7:30…_'

"Yo!" Kakashi landed on the bridge's rail. "You're late!" yelled Sakura. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life…"

"You already used that one…" Kimi hissed. Kakashi looked amused. "Oh I did? Never mind about that, I signed you four up for the Chuunin Exams. Dead silence greeted his ears, until… "WHAAAAAAT?" Their voices echoed throughout Konoha. Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Yes, I signed you up for the Exam. Here are your applications. All who want to take it meet at the Academy. Sign up at Room 301 by tomorrow at 4:00pm. Take the rest of the day off and think about it." He then Shunshin'd away.

Team 7 was strangely silent as they thought about the Chuunin Exam.

'_I admit it surprised me at first, but it'll be a piece of cake…_' thought Naruto.

Sasuke thought along the same lines. '_Naruto and I will demolish anyone who gets in our way._'

Sakura was doubtful. '_Would we really be able to pass? I don't feel we're ready, but if Kakashi-sensei thinks so…_'

'_Heh, considering how we did in our last mission, I'm surprised he hasn't signed us up for the JOUNIN exam…_' thought Kimi amusedly.

"I'm all for taking the Exam," declared Naruto.

"Me too. With our team, we're certain to do well," Sasuke agreed.

"If they're going, then I won't be left out," Sakura said.

Kimi eyed them all. "Ok, so that's settled. We're all going, but before we go we should think up some combat strategies and formations."

Team 7 agreed, and spent the morning and part of the afternoon creating and testing new strategies. Their work done, they went home.

----

It was morning the next day, and Team 7 met up before arriving at the Academy. They had not walked that far when they heard sounds of scuffling in the hall. They turned the corner in time to see a guy with a green spandex outfit being punched into the crowd.

One of the two shinobi guarding the door into 301 laughed. "You expect to pass the Chuunin Exam like _that_? You should quit now."

"Please… let us through," pleaded a girl with a pink Chinese shirt.

She was merely knocked in the face and sent into the crowd.

The two shinobi stared at the crowd. "Listen, we're doing you guys a favor. The Chuunin Exam isn't easy. We've failed 3 times already… shinobi that quit after entering, shinobi that die… We've seen it all. Chuunins are team captains, the failure of a mission, and a death of a comrade… They are all a captain's responsibility. Do you think you kids can pass like this?"

Naruto scoffed. "Che, how weak." He turned to his team. "Look at them trying to get into a door when they're not even on the third floor." Sasuke nodded. "If they can't even see through a simple genjutsu, they are not ready to take the Exams."

The two shinobi spotted Team 7 walking past them. "Yo!" the shinobi wearing a cap called out, causing them to turn. "So you've found out have you?" he said as the genjutsu around the room number cancelled, revealing the number 201.

"Not bad…" said the spiky haired ninja with bandages on his nose. "You may have seen through that, but see through THIS!" he yelled as he rushed forward with a kick.

Naruto gave a bored look to Sasuke, who nodded. Naruto flicked his hand up and the earth underneath the ninja shot up and hit him on the chin. "Urk!" he managed to spit out before he was sent barreling back.

The green clothed boy could only stare in amazement at the display of power. '_He is a rookie, yet he took out that guy with a flick of his hand… He and that boy next to him… They emit a strong aura. I think I may have found myself some new rivals._' He then spotted Sakura.

With a huge grin on his face, he walked over to Sakura. She looked confused until he began speaking. "Hello! Let's go out together! I'll protect you until I die!" he said, his teeth sparkling.

"No. You're lame. Your eyebrows are thick, your eyelashes funny, and you're wearing too much green." Sakura replied. The green clothed boy hung his head in sadness.

"Hey you." Naruto turned to see a boy with pale eyes without pupils. "What's your name?"

"Why does it concern you?" Naruto said airily. "Just remember me as the one that'll give your ass a royal kicking."

The girl with the two buns looked Naruto over. He was wearing his cargo pants, his orange and white shirt, and over it he wore his customized orange hooded sweatshirt. '_He looks cute…_' she thought.

Then she looked over at Sasuke (Who had also gotten new clothes at Kiri.) He was wearing dark blue baggy jeans, a white shirt with the Uchiha fan on the front, and a dark blue hooded jacket over it. '_He's cute too…_'

Naruto looked over at his teammates. "C'mon, let's go before we're late." As they set off, green clothed boy stared at their backs. "Hey!" he yelled. Naruto turned. "The name's Lee. Want to fight me?"

Naruto shook his head. "Save your energy for the Chuunin Exams. We're all going to need it…"

Lee nodded. '_He is wise…_' He then turned to his teammates. "Let's go, Neji. Tenten." They nodded and followed after Naruto and his team.

Team 7 reached room 301 to see Kakashi standing in front of it. "I see. So you all came? Good, otherwise I wouldn't have let you in."

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura. "You mean we all had to come?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. It is the duty of a teammate to sacrifice their goals for the rest of the team. If one of you passed on this, you were thinking of yourself more than your team. You're all here, so that is irrelevant." He gestured to the door. "In you go. I hope to see you all as Chuunin."

Naruto turned to his teammates. "Good luck Kimi-chan. Sasuke. Sakura."

They entered the room to see lots and lots of shinobi from every village. "Wow…" breathed Kimi.

A sudden yell broke the silence in the room. "Sasuke-kun! You're late!" Ino cried out as she jumped Sasuke and hung on his neck.

"I haven't seen you in so long, so I've been waiting here anxiously for you!"

"Ino-pig! Get away from Sasuke-kun!" yelled Sakura.

"Why, if it isn't Sakura… Forehead still ugly as always."

"What did you say?"

Shikamaru walked up. "You guys are talking the test too? Talk about troublesome…"

Kimi turned to see Shikamaru and Chouji. "Hey it's the three stooges!"

"Shut up, we're not stupid." Shikamaru's eyebrows twitched.

"Yahoo! I found you!" yelled out a voice behind them.

"Geez, you guys too…" Shikamaru muttered.

"Heh, so all of this years' 10 rookie genins are taking the exams." Kiba said. "We did a lot of training, prepare to lose!"

Naruto and Sasuke stared at him impassively while Kimi scowled.

Naruto yawned. "Don't act so high and mighty dog boy, or we'll…"

"…Knock you down the last few levels…" Sasuke continued.

"…Till you reach Loser-ville…" Kimi finished.

"Ah… s-sorry Naruto. Kiba d-didn't mean it l-like that…" said the shy Hyuuga heiress, Hyuuga Hinata, while Kiba tried to kill the three of them.

"Hey you guys, you should be more quiet!" said a guy with glasses and silver hair in a ponytail. "You guys are rookies just out of the academy right? Geez, screaming like schoolgirls. The Exams aren't a picnic you know…"

Ino looked slightly put out. "Who do you think you are?"

The guy straightened his glasses. "The name's Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto. And don't talk so loud in here, everyone is nervous about the exam and they just might go psycho on you."

"Ah… Kabuto-san? This is your second time right?" Sakura asked.

"Nope. My seventh. The Chuunin Exams come around twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

"Wow, so you must know a lot of the exams." Sakura commented.

"Yes, that's right. That's why I'll share some info with you cute rookies… With these nin-info cards." Kabuto drawled. "They are cards that have information burned onto them. They are blank right now, but if I use some chakra, the information pops up. I have 4 years of information… over 200 cards."

Kiba asked a question. "Got any info on individual ninja?"

"Well, the info isn't perfect, but I can share them with you. Just say their name and I'll find them for you." Kabuto smiled.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke" Kiba said almost immediately.

Kabuto quickly drew 2 cards from the stack. Inserting chakra he read off the information.

"Uzumaki Naruto… Mission History: 25 D-Ranks, and an A-Rank. Impressive… Let's see, skills… His taijutsu is above average, genjutsu below average, and his ninjutsu… Wow, it's unknown!" Kabuto was shocked, but continued on.

"Uchiha Sasuke… Same mission history as Naruto. Taijutsu is above average, genjutsu is average, and his ninjutsu is his best aspect." Kabuto smiled. "He won't be easy to beat, as well as Naruto here."

"Impressive…" said a voice behind Naruto. He slowly turned around, and his eyes bugged out. "Y-YOU!" he stuttered. It was the dark eyed girl that he had seen during the night. "What are you doing here!" he hissed.

"Taking the Chuunin Exam, what else. I was listening in on your nin-info card and it was quite intriguing. I hope to meet you in battle during the exams," she said while smiling. Naruto huffed.

"You better watch your back, because when I find you I'm going to _crush_ you."

The threat issued, the two stared each other down. "Oi, Kumiko! Who's the kid?" said her teammates. "Neh, Heikaru, Hari. He's someone that I'd like to face in the Exams. Did you hear his information? His ninjutsu skill is unknown!"

The boy named Heikaru chuckled. Naruto looked at him critically. He had light brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing black ninja pants and a plain white t-shirt, with a zanbatou strapped to his back. "Seems you have a zanbatou as well…"

Naruto looked to the last of the three-man team, the girl by the name of Hari. She had flowing green hair and onyx eyes. Also wearing a hitai-ate around her neck, she also wore a non-standard flak jacket over her red t-shirt. She also wore blue jeans.

Heikaru looked at him and grinned. "It seems I do. Where'd you get yours?" Naruto grinned. "Former blade of Momochi Zabuza, missing-nin of the Mist and former member of the Seven Swordsman."

Heikaru whistled. "Nice. So did you take it after your sensei killed him?" Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. "What the hell are you talking about? Sasuke and I killed him." Heikaru merely laughed. "You expect me to believe that?" Kumiko tried to intervene. "Heikaru stop." Naruto grinned and flicked his hand upward. The earth under Heikaru shot up. He shot back, barely dodging the pillar.

"Wow… no hand seals…" Naruto merely turned his palm skyward and clenched his fist and punched as he did in the battle with Haku. The pillar compressed into a small stone the size of a fist, and shot forward at high velocity to Heikaru, hitting him straight in the gut. "Oomph!" he fell to his knees while clutching his gut. "Don't underestimate me." Naruto said in a dangerously icy voice.

Teams 8,9, and 10 stared in awe. One thought ran through their minds. '_Wow… he's strong._'

Suddenly, Naruto saw movement in the corner of his eye. 3 Sound nin rushed at Naruto, who easily jumped back to the other side of the room, avoiding the sound nin's fist. His eyes narrowed as he saw the contraption on the nin's arm vibrating. '_Sound… amplified? Now I get it…_'

Waiting till the last moment, he jumped to his right as soon as he felt vibrations around his ear. Smirking, he stared at the shocked Sound nin. '_Amazing, he dodged my sound as well… Who is this kid?_"

"QUIET DOWN YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS!" boomed a loud voice from the front of the room. A cloud of smoke appeared and when it cleared, everyone saw the instructor and the chuunins next to him.

"Thanks for waiting… I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor for the first stage of the Chuunin Selection Exams." Everyone flinched, as his tone of voice was that of something dangerous. He raised a finger. "You there, Sound guys. Don't attack others before the exam unless you want to fail already."

The apparent leader bowed slightly. "I apologize, it's our first time here and we got carried away…"

"Che. I'll say it here; there will be NO fighting without the permission of the instructor. Even if we do grant permission, you are not allowed to kill. Those _pigs_ that disobey will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

"We will now start the first stage of the Exams. Instead of sitting in your current spots, you will pick from these tabs." He gestured to a large amount of tabs. "You will then sit in the seat assigned to you by the tab. We will then hand out the exams."

Naruto sat in his assigned seat, and silently looked to his right to see some stranger. He looked to his left… "GUH! It's you again!" It was Kumiko… "Che, the gods are against me or something…" Kumiko merely stared at Naruto.

"Ahem!" Ibiki cleared his throat. "I will now state the rules, as well as write it up on the chalk board. Questions are not allowed. All team members will start with 10 points… The test has 10 questions, each worth a point… and every time you miss a question you will lose a point."

Ibiki continued. "The second rule is that it is a team test. You will combine scores with your team after the end of the exam to see whether you pass or fail."

"The third rule is that during the exam, if you are caught cheating, you will be deducted 2 points for every offense. All the chuunins here…" he gestured around the room. "… Will be here to check for cheating and other offenses." Ibiki finished.

Ibiki smiled. "If a shinobi gets caught cheating, they are basically destroying themselves. Be the proud ninja that you are…"

"The final rule… Those that lose all their points during the test and those that incorrectly answer all the questions will be _failed_ along with their 2 teammates! Also, if your teammate or mates are unable to continue, you will be failed."

Ibiki put on a serious look. "The Exam will last one hour… Ok, BEGIN!"

It was 5 minutes into the exam, and Naruto suddenly felt searing pain flash through his eyes, then it was gone.

'**_Kit, I know what that was…_**'

'_Oh really? Then what was it?_'

'**_It seems you have a bloodline limit…_**'

'_WHAT?_'

'**_See for yourself, kit…_**'

Naruto quickly untied his hitai-ate and used the metal reflection to look at his eyes and gasped. '_My eyes… they're dark blue and there's a golden dot just outside my pupil…_'

'**_Hmm… I know for a fact that the Kazama Clan did not have any blood limits…_**'

'_I would know… When I found out the Yondaime was my father 3 years ago, I couldn't believe it. When I looked through scrolls to see if I had some sort of special bloodline limit… well, there were none recorded._'

'**_We'll just have to make up a name for it then. Find out what it does before we name it. Oh and, you're supposed to cheat in this exam. It'll be helpful in passing the exam._**'

Naruto did as the Kyuubi suggested and focused chakra into his eyes, and suddenly his vision zoomed in like a camera. Turning his vision onto someone who was writing very quickly, he found that his vision went straight through the man and onto the answers. Grinning, he quickly wrote down the answers to the 9 questions, but did not relax just yet.

'_Time to find the limits of this here eye…_'

Zooming it to maximum distance, he could see a shivering boy in the front row as if he was standing right behind him.

'**_Kit, try to shoot chakra out of your eyes… You keep experimenting while I try to find out what else this baby can do._**'

'_Alright Kyuubi, I'll leave the research to you…_'

Naruto began concentrating as hard as he could and willed chakra to shoot the boy in the head. He felt the chakra jump out his eye and hit the boy straight on. What he didn't expect was for the boy to collapse. Eyes widened, he stared at the boy.

'**_Kukuku! That looks fun. Let's see… I made up a random name for the bloodline until we discover it's true name. I've called it Takemikatzuchi. How is it?_**'

Naruto smirked. '_Sounds good, Kyuubi._'

Ibiki was surprised to see someone collapse within 10 minutes. He walked over to the fallen boy and did a mental scan with chakra. '_That's funny… He was nervous, but not nearly close to breaking… Someone disrupted one of the chakra paths into his brain for a split second to knock him out… Is that even possible?_'

"Numbers 5, 14, and 101, fail!" he barked. The fallen boy's teammates took him up and dragged him out of the room. Soon, the Chuunin began failing people as well.

"Numbers 18, 56, and 120, fail!"

"Numbers 11, 32, and 71, fail!"

And the cycle continued. With Naruto constantly looking for some sap to knock out, it wasn't long before there were only 26 teams left. With 18 minutes to go, Naruto calmly sat back to wait for the tenth question.

----

Kumiko had looked down at the test when the exam started, but was unable to answer any. '_Che, I'll have to cheat without being seen…_' she thought when Naruto suddenly clutched his eyes in pain. Concerned, she saw Naruto take his hitai-ate off. Looking at the reflection at an angle, she could see the change in eye color. '_A bloodline limit! It seems he just discovered it too, how lucky he must be…_' She noticed him concentrating on one of the students and was surprised to see him suddenly scribbling answers at top speed.

Biting her lip and turning her had to make sure none of the Chuunin was looking at her, she eyed Naruto again to see him concentrating on someone. He smirked and a second later a boy had collapsed. '_What just happened? It couldn't have been him… could it? It's possible…_' She watched as he switched concentration on to someone else and in a short while that person had collapsed as well. '_All right, so he's knocking them all out with a doujutsu… Impressive._' She turned to her own completed test. "Piece of cake…" she muttered.

----

Ibiki looked around. Only 18 teams left. It was the last 15 minutes, and it was time to announce the last question.

"Alright you maggots, listen up! Here's the tenth question. But before you take the question, we'll go over some added rules. For the tenth question, you must decide whether or not you will take the question."

"What happens if we don't choose?" asked one of the remaining ninja.

"If you don't choose, your points will automatically be reduced to… _ZERO_. You would fail, a long with your two teammates!" he said with a very frightening look in his eye.

"Of course we will take the question then!" yelled out another ninja.

"Shut up and listen to the final added rule. If you choose to take it, but answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin Exams again."

Kiba yelled out angrily, "What kind of rule is that? There are plenty of people that took the test before!"

Ibiki chuckled evilly.

"You guys were unlucky. This year, you play by MY rules. BUT, I am giving you a way out… If you choose not to take it, you can try again next year. Let us now commence with the tenth question. Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand!"

Naruto sat calmly as he conversed with Kyuubi.

'**_Che, there is no way they can ban you from this exam. It is your home country's decision whether or not you become Chuunin, and the Leaf can't interfere in other countries' Chuunin Exams business. Pass the message._**'

Nodding, Naruto pulled out his pencil and began tapping in special code to his teammates. 'Do NOT raise your hand.'

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kimi nodded their heads at the message.

Ibiki looked around. "This is your last chance to quit." His eyes locked onto Uzumaki Naruto. '_That kid… he sits there as if… he KNOWS the outcome._' Ibiki smirked. "To all those who are left… I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

"W-What about the tenth question?" asked Heikaru.

"There never was one to begin with!" Ibiki said with a smile across his face. "You could say those last two choices were the tenth question."

"Then what were the other nine questions for!" blurted out Kumiko. "Were they pointless?"

Ibiki shook his head. "No… Not pointless. They achieved their purpose. To test your information gathering skills. I will explain what I mean. As the rules explained, success relied on your entire team to be successful. Because of this, teammates were pressured to not screw it up for the rest of the team. Of course, these questions were too difficult for mere genin. As you must have assumed, you had to cheat to answer the first nine questions! We spread out three chuunin around the room to be targets for cheating."

Ibiki began untying his bandana. "Those that cheated poorly, failed… Because in times, information is more valuable than your own life… and on the battlefield, people will risk everything to attain it." Ibiki removed his headband to show horrible signs of torture on his head.

"I still don't understand the final question…" Kumiko asked.

Ibiki grinned. "I'll explain. You were given two choices. Take it or don't take it. Obviously, these were painfully hard choices, fail and miss becoming a Chuunin or never be able to take the test again… Take this for example. You are a Chuunin gathering enemy information. You have no idea about the size of their forces, the number of traps, or whether or not they know you are coming.

Because you don't want to die… because you don't want to harm your team… Can you avoid the mission? OF COURSE NOT! No matter the danger, there are missions that you can't avoid. To be courageous and survive hardship… these are the qualities of a Chuunin captain. I wish you who completed the first exam the best of luck in the next exam."

Suddenly a cloaked ball crashed through the window.

'_What the!'_ thought most of the people in the room.

Unfurling the cloak and sending the two top corners into the ceiling with kunai, a dark haired woman appeared. "This isn't the time to be celebrating! I'm Mitarashi Anko, the proctor for the second part of the exam!"

----

This is the longest chapter by 100+ words. Next Chapter will be the Second Exam.

I feel that I may have focused on Naruto a lot here… but then again it revolves around Naruto  Tell me if you want me to focus on the minor characters as well. As for the bloodline name, it's something I made up on the spot. I doubt it means anything. Can someone give me a good name for it?

I may put minor edits in this chapter.

**Litoaznboi93-** Thank you for the review. These annoying 6000 word chapters take several hours for me to type up.

**LordofVermillion-** It's not a problem. I happen to like Yugao. Also, I don't know if there is another plot out there, but I came up with this on my own.

**Angel0fdestiny-** Thank you for the review. And yes, Itachi's been _spying._ Combat writing is done instantly in my head lol.

**Nexuseragon-** As you can see you were right. The next chappie was the beginning of the Chuunin Exam Arc.

**Animeflunky-** He wouldn't use it on Orochimaru because it would waste all his chakra and make him defenseless if Orochimaru dodges.

**AznAltron-** I plan to power up the rest of the team later.

Mizuki – Means 'Beautiful Moon'.

Hikaru – Means 'Light/Shining'.

Kumiko – Means 'Eternal beautiful child'.

Nii-san – Brother

Sabaku no Gaara – Gaara of the Sand


	8. Chance Encounter

**Precious Person**

Chapter 7: The Second Exam – Chance Encounter

Anko looked around the room. "Ibiki! How could you let 48 of them pass? Your test must have been too easy."

Ibiki smiled. "This year's batch looks more promising." He turned and whispered to Anko. "We would've had more if random people didn't start collapsing left and right due to foreign chakra interference in their brains…"

Anko's eyes bugged out. "Is that even possible?"

Ibiki nodded. "Saw it with my own two eyes."

----

Naruto was distracted for the time being.

'_Oi Kyuubi, how do I deactivate this blasted thing?_'

'**_Just concentrate on it… Idiot._**'

'_I've never had a bloodline limit for experience so shut up…_' Naruto concentrated on deactivating his Takemikatzuchi. '_Like this?_'

'**_Good. Remember to turn it on, do the same thing except on activating it… Now do me proud and make Chuunin!_**'

----

Kumiko stared at Naruto as he spaced out. She waved a hand in his face and received no response. She leaned in closer to see what was wrong with him. Moving in closer, she could see his glazed eyes, but his breathing was normal.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room… an enraged Kimi looked on as she saw a strange girl being too close to her Naruto-kun. '_I don't know what the hell she's doing over there… but she's way too close to my Naruto-kun for comfort._' She continued to eye Kumiko as one thought ran through her mind. '_If I find she did something, I'll kill her._'

Anko interrupted Kimi out of her thoughts. "Che, I think there are too many but no matter. I'll cut their numbers at the least by half."

Sakura looked worried. '_That much?_'

Anko smiled creepily. "I'll explain everything once we get to the next area.

Leading them to a large forest surrounded by fencing, she stopped. "Welcome to Practice Arena 44, the spot for the next test. This area is effectively named 'The Forest of Death'.

Kumiko looked at the huge trees and the darkness inside them. '_Looks creepy…_'

Anko smiled evilly. "You will soon find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death'."

Sasuke grinned inwardly. '_I don't know about the rest, but I think it'll be a piece of cake._'

Naruto smirked. "There's nothing that I'm afraid of!" he said confidently.

A kunai suddenly came whizzing at him. Dodging to his right, he felt Anko's presence and immediately spun in order to kick her. Anko blocked his kick, but did not continue. "Very good… Shinobi must be prepared for anything."

Anko smiled to herself. '_That kid… he'll go places…_' She turned to the examinees. "Alright! Before we start the second test, I'll be passing something out." She held up a stack of papers. "You must sign these agreement forms, because there _will_ be deaths in there. Once you sign this, I am no longer responsible for your lives. Before I pass them out though, I'll explain the test. You will check in at the booth behind me."

She began handing out papers. "During this exam, you will attempt the ultimate survival. I'll explain the training area now." She pulled out a map. "Training Area 44 has 44 locked entrances. In it, there are forests, a river, and the tower. It is about 10km from the gates to the tower." She pulled out two scrolls. "Your objective during the Exam… using your many weapons and jutsu… are two get these pair of scrolls. The Heaven and Earth. There are 48 people here, meaning 16 teams. 8 teams will get the Heaven; the other 8 will get the Earth. To pass the test, you must make it to the tower with _both_ scrolls."

Sakura understood. '_So this is what she meant when she said she would cut our numbers in half…_'

Anko continued. "There is a 120 hour time limit, 5 days."

"What about dinner?" yelled out Chouji.

"The forest is full of food. The forest is crawling with enemies, giant monsters, and poisonous insects. The longer you take to get to the tower, the more dangerous it becomes…" She smiled. "Now I'll talk about what can disqualify you! Firstly, those that don't make it to the tower with both scrolls by the end of the time limit are disqualified. Second, those who lose teammates or have their teammates killed. You are not allowed to quit in the middle of the exam. And finally, you _must not_ look in the scrolls before you reach the tower."

"What happens if you do?" Kimi asked.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Anko grinned maliciously. "A chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This scroll test is to test your trustworthiness. That's it for the rules! Exchange your three sheets for a scroll and wait for further instruction!"

The remaining 16 teams slowly filed through the scroll booth, which was covered by a curtain so that no one could decipher who got what scrolls. Naruto and his team entered the booth and received a Heaven scroll.

About 5 minutes later… "Alright! Everyone follow an instructor to your gates! The exam starts in 30 minutes!" Anko boomed.

They were about to head off to their gate when Kumiko walked up to him. "I'd like to have a word with you, Naruto."

Naruto looked confused as he followed her outside the others' range of hearing, while Kimi glared daggers at Kumiko. Turning to Naruto, she asked "So… Were you knocking everyone out during the first exam?" Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Yeah that was I." Kumiko was interested. "What did you do? How did you do it?" Naruto grinned. "A new bloodline that I just found I had. I can send a burst of chakra at someone. I just disrupted their mental capacity to stay conscious."

Kumiko nodded. "Thanks for telling me this." She smiled sweetly at him. "Now I can devise a counter for it." Naruto choked. "I don't know… I've only unlocked the first level. I'm estimating there are at least 3, maybe 4." At this, Kumiko's jaw dropped, but regained her balance. "It matters not, I WILL defeat you in there." Naruto smirked. "Think what you will!" he called behind him before he walked back to his team.

Kimi walked up to him. "So what did she want?" Naruto frowned. "Information on the new bloodline limit I found that I had."

"Are you sure that you weren't… fraternizing with the enemy?" Kimi asked.

Naruto pouted. "Why must you be so suspicious Kimi-chan? Are you jealous?"

Kimi flushed. "I AM NOT!"

Naruto shrugged. "It's true anyway, I'm calling it the Takemikatzuchi for the time being until I find out what to name it."

Kimi smiled. "Alright, alright. I believe you."

Sasuke jumped into the conversation. "Bloodline? When? What does it do?"

Naruto held up a hand. "One question at a time. Yes, bloodline. When? I discovered it during the first exam. What does it do? I can use it like the Byakugan, see through things and magnify. I can also send out chakra through my eyes to disable enemies."

Sasuke nodded knowingly. "And if I'm not mistaken, you think there are higher levels of it right?"

"Yeah, you're pretty perceptive, Sasuke."

"Let's go to our gate already!" said an impatient Sakura.

"Alright, alright. Let's see… we're gate 12. Let's go!" declared Naruto.

Anko glanced at her watch. '_Bingo._'

"The second test of the Chuunin Selection Exam… Now begins!"

Immediately, the 16 teams rushed into the forest. Naruto turned to his team. "Our first plan of action should be to get to the tower. It's always best to be close to the finish line in case something happens."

"I'll be rear guard, you be forward, Naruto." Sasuke suggested.

"Alright… at the next clearing, we'll draw up a battle plan. I'll scout out the area once we're there." Naruto said.

Everything was going according to plan. Naruto had gone off to 'scout', while Sakura, Sasuke, and Kimi talked amongst themselves. Soon, Naruto had returned, but Sasuke spotted something.

"Oi, dobe, what took you so long?" he asked. "The area was big…" Naruto said.

This remark was enough proof for Sasuke before he yelled "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**"

The Naruto jumped away, but not unscathed. "How… how did you see through my henge?" the nin said as he transformed back to normal, revealing an Ame nin.

Naruto would never ignore an insult just like you did. Also, Naruto had two blades not one.

The Ame nin grinned. "Clever…" A voice came from the trees. "Clever is something that you're not though." Immediately the earth under the Ame nin shot up and knocked him out. Sasuke grinned. "Oi, dobe! What took you so long?"

Naruto smirked. "Shut it teme, the place is crawling with animals. Big ones at that."

They checked the Rain shinobi's gear but found no scroll. "Whatever" Kimi waved her hand. "Let's take his equipment for ourselves."

Team 7 nodded in agreement as they stripped the shinobi of everything except his clothes and mask. They moved onward as quickly as possible.

They landed in another clearing, some distance away from the last. Sasuke raised a hand and motioned for them to stop. '_Someone is here… I can feel it._' He motioned them to huddle. "Alright, here's the plan. To prevent further impersonation, we will do Bunshin no Jutsu to identify ourselves. The person that enters the clearing needs to do Bunshin no Jutsu first, so that if he was an intruder he doesn't find out the key.

While he was talking though, he was making signs with his hand. "_There is someone here…_" Naruto nodded, as he realized what Sasuke's plan was.

Naruto head off into the forest. Using sign language, he gave them his message. "_I'll be setting up a perimeter in another clearing with traps. .2 kilometers northwest our position._"

Receiving his message, the rest stood on guard. After 20 minutes, Naruto reappeared. "I'm back!" Sasuke stared. "What's the code?"

Naruto smiled. "That's easy. **Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Immediately Naruto was bombarded by kunai and shuriken.

"You're not the real Naruto! The real one could never do a proper Bunshin no Jutsu!" Sasuke said.

The fake Naruto chuckled. "You are very intelligent to use that information against me. It will be very fun playing with you rookies." He dispelled the Henge and was revealed to be a longhaired Grass nin. "You want my Earth scroll right? The Grass shinobi grasped his scroll, and swallowed it entirely. You'll have to… KILL ME for it…"

Suddenly a huge wave of killer intent washed over them, as they watched their own deaths. The three collapsed onto their knees, shaking. '_This is bad… we have to run from him. Otherwise, we'll die. Our only choice is to meet with Naruto._'

"Heheh, you can no longer move," the Grass nin said, while pulling out three kunai.

Sasuke eyed Kimi as he struggled to pull out his own kunai, Kimi doing the same. '_Just a little more…_' he thought. The Grass shinobi threw the kunai. '_NOW!_' he and Kimi plunged their kunais into their legs. Sasuke quickly picked up Sakura and they ran off to Naruto's position.

"Hmm…" the Grass nin thought to himself. '_That boy and the girl… they used pain to cancel out the fear… They will be fun to hunt._'

Sasuke, with Sakura in tow, and Kimi ran as quick as they could. "Sasuke, that was no genin or chuunin level ninja. He's got to be as strong as Kakashi-sensei at the least!" Kimi said. Sasuke grit his teeth. "I know, and that's why we're running to meet up with Naruto."

It was 5 minutes before they reached their destination. Seeing Naruto sitting in the clearing, they sighed in relief. Naruto spotted them and walked over. "What happened to you guys?"

Kimi explained what happened. "We were attacked by some strange Grass nin, he's got to be Jounin level or higher." Naruto was in deep thought. "Well… our best choice is to run and finish the test as quickly as possible, but with that level of ninja following us that's not possible. We will need to fight as a team."

Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Remember Zabuza and Haku?" Sasuke nodded. "They were also at Jounin level, but with excellent teamwork we defeated them." Sasuke grinned. "I see what you're getting at. No matter how good a ninja, he can't defeat a team that's working together as one." Naruto grinned mischievously. "Bingo. So let's wait for that nin to show up and we'll show him who's boss."

It wasn't long before the Grass shinobi arrived to see Team 7 calmly waiting for him in the clearing. "Well, well, well. It seems the prey have decided to stand and fight. How… honorable."

He pulled up his left sleeve and bit his finger. Sliding it over his arm, he yelled, "**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**" A large snake appeared, a very giant one at that.

Naruto merely smirked, and pulled on the strings he held in his hand. Immediately, explosive noted kunai and shuriken were flying hazardously at the serpent. The sheer amount of explosives was able to kill it.

"Che. I don't need the snake to kill you four." The grass nin spread his arms. "Come." Naruto and Sasuke got into basic taijutsu stances.

"As you wish," Naruto said as he smirked.

As Sasuke jumped into the air and shot kunai at him, Naruto rushed forward and created several Kage Bunshins, then hid in the ground with a Doton jutsu.

The Grass nin easily dodged the kunai, and then engaged Naruto's Kage Bunshins. Sensing something under him, he looked down in time to hear Naruto yell, "**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!**" Jumping to avoid the pair of hands that came out from the ground, Sasuke took the opportunity to go through hand seals. "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**"

Flipping over the fireballs, the Grass nin charged at Sasuke. Activating his Sharingan, he rushed to meet the nin in taijutsu. He jumped high into the air then performed a roundhouse kick. The grass nin blocked it and kicked skyward. Sasuke managed to flip over it and rushed in again. Jumping, he performed two frontal kicks and flipped. Blocking both, the Grass nin then threw punches and kicks at Sasuke.

Before the punch could reach Sasuke, several cracks appeared on the floor and 5 Naruto Kage Bunshins burst from the ground. Each performing a different move, the Grass nin was hard pressed to block them all, so instead he blew out chakra and blasted them all away.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke looked at Naruto as he began doing hand seals. "I see… so he wants me to copy that move." Naruto and Sasuke both yelled out, "**Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!**" The Grass nin replied with a defensive jutsu. "**Doton: Doryu Heki!**"

----

Meanwhile, Kumiko and her group were going at top speed through the forest when they heard explosions in a nearby clearing. Hiding behind some trees, Heikaru peered out to see Team 7 engaged with the Grass nin. He motioned to his two teammates and they watched the battle progress.

----

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto cried. 9 Naruto rushed at the Grass nin while 2 stayed back and began performing hand seals.

"**Katon: Yurika no Jutsu!**"

"**Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!**"

The 9 Naruto rushing the nin jumped high into the air to avoid the fire techniques. "**Suiton: Suijinheki!**" yelled the Grass nin. The Naruto's began falling down to earth and began spinning while in a fetal position. Raining down at high speed, the Naruto's began a combo he just created. "U-ZU-MA-KI-NA-RU-TO-REN-DAN!" Each human cannonball slammed a scissor kick onto the Grass nin's head.

Each one jumped back and went through hand seals. 9 voices in unison yelled, "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" The 9 fireballs each collided at the same time with the Grass nin. When the fire cleared, there was nothing. '_Shit!_' he thought as he jumped back to avoid a rain of kunai.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled. He began launching explosive noted kunai into the general area of the Grass nin. Feeling a presence behind him, he ducked under the nin's kick and slid on his hands and performed a low kick that tripped the Grass nin. Jumping back, he began throwing shuriken with strings attached at the nin. Manipulating them so the nin was caught, he tied him to a tree. He then landed next to Naruto, and gave him a nod. "**Katon: Karyu Endan no Jutsu!**" they yelled in unison.

The two fiery dragons rushed at the Grass nin and hit him straight on. The Grass nin began screaming in pain from the fire…

----

Kumiko watched as Naruto and Sasuke fought the Grass nin. She turned to her teammates. "That guy's got to be higher than jounin level. He doesn't even look like he's trying!" Heikaru nodded gravely. "They can't run either, because he has more stamina and tracking skills than them. That's why they stayed and fought."

They continued to watch as Naruto and Sasuke performed the Karyu Endan together and hit the nin straight on. Hari winced and said, "Ah, that must hurt." They were surprised at what happened next.

----

"You guys! You did it!" yelled Sakura as she ran over to them. "Sakura, wait!" yelled Kimi as she followed. On the tree, the smoldering Grass nin began moving and broke the wires. He stood up and punched a fist into his other open palm. Immediately, Team 7 was unable to move. "K-Kanashibari no Jutsu…" Naruto managed to stutter out. The Grass nin slowly walked forward to Team 7.

The Grass nin introduced himself. "I am Orochimaru. You two, have displayed strength that I desire…" He looked over at Kimi. "Oh what is this? What a fine specimen of a female. She would be perfect as a breeding whore…" Naruto's eyes glazed over in rage.

"You… YOU!" His eyes turned red.

"**IF YOU TOUCH HER, I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU!**" roared Naruto as he broke free of the paralysis and rushed at Orochimaru. Surprised, he prepared himself for combat, but was surprised at the sheer force and speed that Naruto had. Ducking under a blow, he was caught by a kick and sent flying through a tree.

Standing up, he saw Naruto rushing at him again. He was emanating vile red chakra. '_This couldn't be… could it?_' He dodged another punch, ducked under a kick, flipped over another punch, and was then cornered against the tree. He turned his head to avoid a punch, and Naruto crushed the entire tree trunk.

Naruto roared in feral rage as he continued his assault.

Knocking Orochimaru into another set of trees, he shouted, "**HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH?**"

Orochimaru climbed out of the tree and winced. '_That boy hits hard…_' He then started laughing. "Kukuku, you amuse me greatly Naruto-kun. How about I give you… a going away present?" Suddenly his neck stretched out and at Naruto.

Shocked, he attempted to move but found that he couldn't. '_Another Kanashibari no Jutsu…_' He closed his eyes to wait for the attack, but none came.

Opening his eyes, he gasped as he saw Sasuke take the bite for him. Sasuke quickly collapsed to the ground. Then, a loud scream erupted from his lips as a curse seal formed on his neck.

Orochimaru frowned. "Well, I can only use it once a day… It is no matter; he was my primary choice anyway. Before I go…"

Naruto roared and charged at Orochimaru. Dodging the fist, his tongue lashed and bound Naruto. Pulling up Naruto's shirt, Orochimaru took his time staring at the seal, and then pulled his hand back. 5 small fires appeared on each of his 5 fingers. He thrust his fingers onto the seal on Naruto's stomach, while yelling "**Goguoufuinn!**" Naruto's breath was knocked out of him, and he then collapsed.

----

Kumiko and her team stared in awe at Naruto's display of power. They were horrified when the nin's neck elongated and bit Sasuke on the neck, causing him to collapse and scream out in pain. They continued to watch as Orochimaru caught Naruto in his tongue. They saw Orochimaru doing something, causing Naruto to collapse as well.

Heikaru held up a hand. "If he leaves, should we aid them?" Kumiko and Hari thought for a few moments. "Yes… they were attacked by a missing-nin sannin… I do believe they deserve some assistance." Hari said. Kumiko nodded. "Besides, they are strong. It would be helpful if they were on our side." Heikaru grinned. "That settles it then…"

----

Orochimaru grinned and dropped Naruto. Well, I've accomplished what I needed to do. I will see you later… Sasuke-kun… Naruto-kun. You fought well, and I hope for an even better battle the next time we meet…" He then disappeared into the ground.

Kimi and Sakura quickly ran over to Sasuke and Naruto. Kimi sensed someone and immediately pulled out a kunai. "Wait!" said the unknown shinobi. "We're here to help, we saw what happened." The shinobi entered the clearing, and Kimi saw that it was the dark haired girl that had sat next to Naruto during the first exam. Kimi narrowed her eyes. "Why would you help an enemy?" Kumiko thought for a moment. "Well, we are both from the Leaf, that battle was horribly unfair, and your team is strong."

Kimi raised an eyebrow. Heikaru sighed. "Look, it's a lot easier to beat up a team when you have two. Also, from what we saw your teammates are very powerful. We wouldn't want you as an enemy." Heikaru grinned. "Besides, you're cute!"

A vein popped out on Kimi's forehead. '_This guy…_'

Heikaru continued on. "How about you and me-URK!" Hari knocked him on the head. "What was that for, Hari?" he complained while rubbing his sore head. "Now's not the time to fool around. We should take these two to a safer area." Heikaru grumbled. "Yeah, yeah, whatever…"

----

When Naruto came to, he found himself in a familiar hallway. Entering the door, he walked up to the cage.

"Oi, why am I here?"

"**_Well kit, look around._**"

Naruto did so and saw many more seals on and around the cage.

"**_That hebi added more seals to me…_**"

"That's not the only reason you called me down here, is it?" Naruto asked.

"**_You're right… I brought you here so I can give you the mastery over water._**"

"I thought you were sealed."

"**_That is true, but it doesn't seal my chakra entirely. It merely… causes your chakra and mine to conflict, making it harder for you to control chakra._**"

Naruto grimaced. "That sucks."

"**_Yes it does gaki, but for now hold still._**" At this, Kyuubi's eyes glowed red.

Pain shot through Naruto's arm, just like last time, except it hurt even more. Lifting up his shirt, he saw a second tattoo going around in a line right under his first.

"**_With that, you can control and manipulate water. Same as last time, find the limits on your own._**"

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"**_Damn, you're perceptive. I discovered what the level 2 of your doujutsu does, and how to obtain it._**"

"Really? Will I like what I hear?"

"**_Depends. I'll tell you anyway. Your second level doujutsu allows you to reflect jutsu, but at the cost of one and a half times the chakra that the opponent used to perform it._**"

Naruto nodded. "That would certainly be useful, considering the mass amount of chakra that I have."

"**_To obtain it though… you must die._**"

Naruto was silent. "Do it…"

Kyuubi grinned. "**_I was hoping you would say that. Watch out, this'll hurt like the seven levels of hell…_**"

----

They were on the move to a new spot when Naruto suddenly started screaming. Startled, they all dropped to the floor and examined Naruto. There was blood coming out of his mouth as his eyes rolled up. His body was shaking uncontrollably while he kept screaming in pain. After a minute it stopped. The two teams stared worriedly at Naruto.

"What happened to make him like that, I wonder…" Kumiko said.

"I don't know, but I'm certain everyone in the area heard him. Let's get out of here." Sakura suggested.

Hari nodded. "That is a good idea. Let's go!"

They all began traveling again.

----

They had arrived at a small alcove inside a tree. Placing Sasuke and Naruto inside, they left Sakura and Kimi to care for them while Heikaru and his team guarded them. It had been 2 days since their encounter with Orochimaru on the first day. It was the third day and the both of them still hadn't woken up. Sasuke was running a high fever and Naruto was still unconscious.

Kimi bit her lip. '_What was happening when he was screaming 2 days ago…?_' She shook her head. '_No time to be thinking questions, I have to be taking care of them._'

-BOOM-

A loud explosion shook the area. Rushing out, Kimi saw that several of their traps had been triggered. Unfortunately, the nins that had set it off were unscathed. She looked around frantically for water when she spotted a small stream nearby. '_That will have to do…_'

"**Suiton: Teppodama!**" she yelled. Cannonballs streaked forward at the nins. One of them held out his palm and dispersed them with a combination of air and sound. '_Tch._' Kimi frowned. "**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**" The large water dragon rushed at the nins. This time, the same man held out both palms. Unfortunately, this was not enough, and he crashed into a tree.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Kimi demanded. The nins stepped forward. "We are the shinobi of the Hidden Sound Village. We were ordered by Orochimaru to kill Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke…" said the same guy who attacked Naruto during the first exam. "The name's Dosu. This is Zaku." He gestured to the guy who used his palms. "And this is Kin." He gestured to the girl next to him.

"Now… how about you be a good girl and let us kill them?" Kimi grimaced. "Over my _dead_ body!" Zaku smirked. "As you wish!" he held out his palms. Kimi went through hand seals as fast as possible.

"**Zankuuha!**"

"**Suiton: Suijinheki!**"

The slicing blast came into contact with her water shield. The smoke cleared, leaving Kimi unscathed. She grinned. "That all you got?"

"Tch. EAT THI-ACK!" he yelled as a kunai hit his hand. Looking up, he saw the figures of Heikaru and his team. "You shouldn't pick on those who can't fight, losers." Dosu frowned. "It's not that we're picking on them, it was a direct order. So if you please…"

"No." Heikaru turned to Kumiko. "You'll have to get through us…" Kumiko said. She pulled out her kodachis. Heikaru took out his zanbatou and Hari merely went through hand seals.

Zaku looked at them. "If you want it that way, then die! **ZANKUUHA!**"

"**Katon: Nenshou Tosshin!**" yelled Hari.

The attack hit the flame shield, but did nothing to damage it. Hari smirked. Suddenly, the shield disappeared and wrapped itself around Hari. She slid into a taijutsu stance and disappeared from view.

Heikaru smiled. "If you want to know, Nenshou Tosshin blocks your attacks, then speeds up the user afterwards. The flames are an added damage bonus."

Hari reappeared behind Kin, and slammed her in the back. Knocking her unconscious, she disappeared from view again.

Hari reappeared again, this time without the flames. Zaku quickly turned and blocked her attack. "Got you."

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

Kimi's jutsu hit him on the back and sent him flying. "Never turn your back on an enemy, loser."

Heikaru smiled approvingly. He turned to Kumiko and nodded. She nodded back and performed several seals.

"**Suiton: Fuuma Mizu Shuriken!**"

From the water, a Fuuma Shuriken formed, and Kumiko grasped it. "Grah! Take this!" she yelled.

She sent the giant shuriken straight at Dosu, who merely dodged. "Haha, is that all you've g-URK!"

The second shuriken hiding under the shadow of the first had gotten him in the arm. Unfortunately, the metal equipment had absorbed most of the force. "Grr, you'll pay for that, wench!"

Suddenly everyone stopped. They turned to see Sasuke standing up, but surrounded by a dark evil aura. Purple chakra swirled around him, and strange markings covered half his body. Unfortunately, they saw Naruto began getting up as well. He was emitting the same red chakra from the last battle. They stood up together and gazed at the two conscious Sound nins.

Naruto flicked a hand upward. Immediately, water gushed from the floor and surrounded Dosu, putting him into a water prison. Dosu struggled to breathe, but Naruto merely increased the water pressure around the head, causing Dosu to fall unconscious. "Dosu!" Zaku yelled. He ran to the prison and hit it, only for part of the prison to blast out and knock him away.

Kumiko and the rest could only watch in horror as Dosu drowned. "D-Dosu! You'll pay for that!" Zaku turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "**ZANKUUHA KYOKUHA!**"

The resulting damage obliterated the ground in front of him. Panting, he smiled. "Wiped them out…" A cold voice behind him spoke up. "Wiped who out?" He turned in horror to see Sasuke, in full curse sealed glory.

Kicking him across the small clearing, he waited for Zaku to get up. Naruto moved in front of Sasuke. "**Takemikatzuchi! Level two!**" Naruto's eyes turned dark blue with two golden dots connected by a gold ring around the pupil.

Growling, Zaku performed his move again. "**Zankuuha Kyokuha!**" Naruto laughed. "**Level two ability: Reflection!**" The massive air cutter was reflected 10 meters from Naruto. "Wha?" Zaku immediately jumped aside as fast as possible, avoiding death by mere inches.

While he was still on the floor, Sasuke immediately closed the distance in less than a second. Grabbing Zaku's neck, he twisted and heard a satisfying crack. He then turned to Naruto, who in turn looked at Kin. Naruto walked over to Kin, shaking her. She slowly came to, to see her two dead teammates. "**Take this message to Orochimaru, girl. Tell him that he'd better watch his back…**" Naruto hissed. Frightened, she ran off as quickly as possible.

Naruto and Sasuke sighed, as they returned to normal. Heikaru looked at the two of them. '_What bloodlust… and how did he perform **Suirou no Jutsu** without hand seals?_'

While Sasuke rummaged through the dead nins' belongings, Naruto clutched his right arm. '_Damn, the pain is still there…_' "Ugh…" he muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

'_Wow…_' thought Kumiko. '_He can reflect jutsus with his bloodline… I may have to rethink whether I want to fight him or not…_'

"Geez, go overboard much?" asked Heikaru. "Shh!" whispered Hari. "Don't provoke them or you might meet the same end!" Heikaru gulped.

Naruto turned to them, causing their team to flinch. "Why are you guys here?"

Hari coughed. "You two were unconscious. We saw your battle with Orochimaru, and decided to help you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"We saw your strength, and we didn't want to be your enemies." Hari explained.

Naruto nodded. "Well, these guys had an Earth scroll so we've got both now. Let's go hurry up to the tower. Since you guys helped us we'll help you get your scroll as well."

Heikaru mumbled his thanks and they soon set off.

Unfortunately, two red eyes watched them set off. '_So Naruto-kun… It seems you have a powerful bloodline limit… I cannot wait to meet you in battle… I hope you become a worthy adversary…_' Itachi smiled maliciously, before disappearing in a whirl of leaves…

----

ZOMG! Another Itachi cliffhanger :O 5,300+ words this chapter.

You might think the bloodline is too overpowered, but keep in mind what Mange Sharingan can do XX. Besides, his reflection costs chakra to reflect.

Regarding the name for the bloodline, can someone translate Reflection Eye for me into Romanji?

Thank you **hoyt** for your review. I don't think Nokkuautogan may be such a good name because it only relates the color of the eyes. It also has the 'gan' at the end making it sound like Byakugan.

Thank you **Genesis D. Rose** for your review. As you see in this chapter, no, Naruto's new bloodline limit will NOT be related to the Byakugan. He can't see chakra, but he can shoot chakra through his eyes, and yes. One direction super zoom.

Thank you **AznAltron** for your review. That's not a half bad idea, since Hayate is such a good swordsman. Likewise, I could use Kumiko's team, but then they aren't half as good as Hayate. And as for if the OC in NarutoxOC is Kimi or Kumiko… That's for me to know MWAHAHA!

Thank you **LbcLostKid** for your review. Kimi does NOT like Kumiko, because she talks with Naruto too much. In her own words, "…_my_ Naruto-kun…"

Thank you **angel0fdestiny** for your review. Yes, you gotta love Naruto. As for your is it a NarutoxKimi fanfic, take a look at the answer I gave AznAltron. MWAHAHAHA!

Thank you **Nexuseragon** for your review. Kimi wasn't Naruto's only friend. It was the other way around. Naruto was Kimi's only friend. And of course, I never did say whether Kimi was the OC in the NarutoxOC did I?

If you want a little teaser: One of the main characters WILL DIE later in the story.

Main Character List:

Naruto

Sasuke

Sakura

Kimi

I shan't reveal anymore than that. Other than that, Rate and Review please. Ja ne!

Ame nin- Rain nin

hebi – snake

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)**

**Kanashibari no Jutsu (Body Freeze Technique)**

**Goguoufuinn (Five Part Seal)**

**Zankuuha (Air Cutter)**

**Zankuuha Kyokuha (Maximum Air Cutter)**

**Katon: Nenshou Tosshin (Fire Element: Burning Rush)**

**Suiton: Fuuma Mizu Shuriken (Water Element: Evil Windmill Water Shuriken)**

**Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)**


	9. Preliminaries

**Precious Person**

Chapter 8: The Second Exam – Preliminaries

Team 7 and Heikaru's team wove through the trees, intent on getting to the tower. While jumping from the large branches, Naruto's eyes glazed over. Fortunately, body reflexes allowed him to keep up with his team.

'**_Oi brat, I have something important to tell you._**'

'_Sure, pick now of all times to tell me, stupid fox…_'

'**_Your supremacy over the elements… I forgot to mention that to use them efficiently, you have to train to use them._**'

'_YOU TELL ME THIS, NOW?_'

'**_Geez, keep your head on straight, kit. Anyway, because of the nature of mastery, I'll give you two choices. Do you choose to train to perfect your mastery over several years without a cost? Or do you choose to not do so, but use them perfectly in exchange for lots of chakra?_**'

'_Gee… that sure is a tough one… Considering the amount of chakra that I use in battle, it would be more beneficial if I perfected my mastery…_'

'**_All right kid, your training begins when you stop at the next clearing. You guys need a rest anyway._**'

Naruto grumbled to himself.

'**_Remember this kit. Once you get down the mastery on all five elements, your skill will be unmatched by anyone under S-Rank. The mastery would help you against Orochimaru, but you would not be able to win through mastery alone. Got it?_**'

'_Got it…_'

Naruto's eyes refocused, and he noticed they were significantly closer to the tower. "Hey guys, let's stop and rest at the next clearing. It's no good if we enter a fight when we're worn out."

The rest agreed. In a few minutes, they had reached a relatively small clearing with a river running through it. Naruto walked over to a tree and sat down next to it. His eyes did not glaze this time however, as he did not put all his concentration into speaking with Kyuubi.

'**_All right, first off… Do you want to train your Doton or Suiton mastery first._**'

'_Umm I choose Suiton. I lack any Suiton skills, while I have a few Doton ones._'

'**_All right, let's get down to business. The first step in training is to be able to summon the water. I know you did it during the fight with the Sound fleshbags, but that was with my superior chakra control helping you._**'

Naruto held out his palm, concentrating with all his might. '_Water… summon water… concentrate…_'

'**_It helps if you imagine it happening. Visuals impact better than auditory._**'

'_Alright._' This time, focusing on an image of him summoning water from the ground, he concentrated. He happily noted that there were a few drops floating around his palm.

'**_A good start, but needs improvement._**'

'_Ne, Kyuubi… why was my Doton mastery so easy to take control of?_'

'**_Haha! I can tell you kit, you have a natural affinity towards Doton, Fuuton, and Katon jutsus. You are most aligned with Fuuton though._**'

'_I see… will I have my Fuuton training cut out for me?_'

'**_There's not a chance in the seven levels of hell, kit. You only get to choose one element to easily master. Whether you wanted to or not, you chose Doton._**'

Naruto pouted. '_Well that sucks…_'

Kyuubi coughed. '**_Less small talk, more training._**'

----

Kumiko spotted Naruto giving his palm a look of utter concentration. Looking closely, she could discern water droplets floating around his hand.

Surprisingly, she found herself attracted to the blonde. '_Snap out of it, Kumiko! We're in the Chuunin Exams for pete's sake! And besides, from the look of it that Kimi girl already likes him…_'

She continued to stare at him. '_I do wonder what in the hell he's doing though…_'

----

Kimi spotted Kumiko staring at Naruto. She turned to see what Kumiko was staring at, and then she saw it. There were water droplets floating around his hand. '_Just like how he manipulated the earth…_' She soon found herself envying him and his apparent new skill.

'_I wish I could summon water and manipulate it into whatever I wanted to…_' she sighed. She looked up to see Kumiko still staring at Naruto, but found that her gaze was no longer on Naruto's hands. Fury welled up inside her. '_How dare she check him out so blatantly in front of me!_'

She struggled to reign in her anger. '_If it wasn't for the fact that we're working together, I would attack her…_' she thought dejectedly.

----

Sasuke stood at the river, eyes paying close attention to the fish. Kunai in hand, he waited… "GRAH!" yelled Heikaru. He tossed the fish into the air, which were quickly impaled by Sasuke's kunai. "Get a few more, will you? We won't be able to feed 7 people with 5 fish you know…" Heikaru scowled. "I _know_ that, but the water is ICE COLD DAMMIT! Why don't you try swimming in the river and look for fish?"

Sasuke smirked. "I'll pass on that. Hurry up or the others will get cranky with lack of food." Heikaru stuck out his tongue before diving underwater again. '_Huh… I haven't noticed until now but… our two teams seem really compatible…_' thought Sasuke. 4 fish popped out of the river, and were quickly caught. "That should be enough, Heikaru. Dry up so we can get back to the others…"

----

Sakura sat in front of Hari. Neither of them spoke, neither of them would take their eyes off of each other. Impatience finally getting the better of her, Hari spoke up. "Why does it seem like your teammates do all the work?" she asked. Sakura looked crestfallen. "I'm more of a braniac than a fighter. If I ever do fight, I'm usually support." Hari nodded. "I see."

Hari looked up to see Heikaru and Sasuke returning. "Here come the men with brunch. Let's go." She got up and walked over to the campfire, with Sakura falling into step behind her.

----

It was 20 minutes later, and everyone had eaten brunch. It wasn't that much, but it had been enough to restore much needed energy and sate their appetite. They had begun moving again, hoping to catch someone near the tower.

It was day three and a half when they finally reached the tower. Looking around, Heikaru's team spotted a scroll on the ground. Checking to make sure there were no traps, he grabbed the scroll. "Kai," he said. Seeing that there was no genjutsu, he thought it to be a stroke of luck.

"Oi! I found an Earth scroll! No traps, no genjutsu, it's the real deal!" he yelled to the rest with a large smile plastered to his face.

Kumiko looked wary. "How is that possible? A scroll lying in plain sight on the floor, with no strings attached…" She thought for a moment.

Suddenly, someone took the Earth scroll. "Oh, so here it was! I was wondering where we threw the blasted thing…" an Ame nin said. He turned to the two leaf teams. "Oh… what do we have here? Did you want our scroll?" Heikaru nodded silently. "Well then, fight us for it." Hari smirked. "This'll be a piece of cake."

They spotted large numbers of ninja emerging from the bushes. They looked like the Ame nin except they wore black and had no eyes. "Bunshin?" Kumiko asked. Heikaru sliced one in half, to see it replicate. "Nope, genjutsu!" he called. "Tch!" he muttered, when one of the genjutsu clones nicked him. Naruto stood next to Heikaru. "They must be coordinating their attacks with the genjutsu's…"

Heikaru nodded. "From the looks of things, they aren't close ranged fighters, and will try to wear us out. Can you find them?" Naruto grinned. "Of course I can, just give me a minute."

Naruto closed his eyes, focusing on his other senses, while Heikaru blocked an incoming kunai. Naruto's eyes shot open. "There," he whispered. Heikaru nodded, and they both threw explosion notes at the area. They were rewarded with a large explosion and the appearance of three Ame nin. "H-How did you find us?"

Heikaru smirked. "We have two people here that don't need to use their sense of vision to fight." One Ame nin frowned. "This does not bode well for us…" The Ame nins jumped back into the forest, as more genjutsu clones appeared. This time though, they looked like the real ones. Naruto closed his eyes, and opened them. "**Takemikatzuchi!**"

Though his eyes weren't like the Byakugan, it still did the same job of seeing through genjutsu that the Sharingan and Byakugan did.

'_This is a genjutsu… and they are nowhere to be found… Left, right, behind, forward, above… then BELOW!_'

Naruto quickly charged his fist with as much chakra in the short amount of time and slammed the ground. The ground cracked, and the resulting shockwave stunned the Ame nins long enough for Naruto to get around them and knock them in the head. Throwing them to his teammates, Kimi and Kumiko immediately began moving through hand seals while Sakura and Hari bombarded them with kunai. Sasuke merely let the rest do the work.

With Kimi's **Suiryuudan no Jutsu** and Kumiko's **Teppodama**, the Ame nins were easily defeated. "Well, now that we both have our scrolls, let's head to the tower." Naruto said.

It was nearly 3:00pm on the third day when the two teams went into separate doors. Sakura stared up at the sign on the opposite side of the room. "Heaven… and Earth… hey guys, I think we're supposed to open the scrolls right now."

Naruto nodded at Sasuke. "At the count of 3. One… two… three!" They both opened the scroll and smoke began pouring out. "Naruto, it's a summoning jutsu, get rid of it!" Naruto and Sasuke both threw their scrolls into the center of the room when the scrolls let out large plumes of smoke. They could see someone, but the smoke covered him.

"Yo! I see you guys passed the second exam."

'_That voice…_' "Iruka-sensei?" Naruto called out.

"Heheh, still as perceptive as ever, Naruto." Iruka said as the smoke cleared. "Long time no see. If you're wondering why I'm here, we Chuunin are supposed to be summoned at the end of the exam to meet the test takers. And I, fortunately, got the privilege to greet you guys." Iruka checked a pocket watch. "Looks like you still have some time on you…"

Sasuke smirked. "Iruka-sensei… what would you have done if we opened the scrolls during the test?" Iruka grinned at this. "Sharp as always. The second exam was to test your trustworthiness and your ability to perform missions correctly. If you _did_ open these scrolls before entering the tower, I had orders to knock the test takers unconscious for the remainder of the exam."

Kimi raised a hand. "Iruka-sensei, what does that sign mean?"

Iruka smiled. "Oh, that? I'll explain it to you. The Heaven means your mind, and the Earth means your body. If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom. Be prepared. It means to gain knowledge and prepare for missions. Take the Old Naruto for example; he used to have no Heaven whatsoever.

Kimi giggled at this.

"If you lack Earth, like Sakura over here, then run in the fields. Seek advantages. It means you must continue to train hard."

Sakura smiled sheepishly. Iruka continued. "And if you have both Heaven and Earth, you can succeed in even the most dangerous missions. Chuunins are military captains. You are given the responsibility of leading a team… knowledge, stamina, and inner wisdom are all needed for your duties. I want you to keep that in mind in the next stage of the exams."

"Roger." Naruto said calmly.

'_He sure has grown from the hyperactive boy I used to know…_' Iruka looked at them. "One more thing, don't push yourselves too hard in the third exam, especially you Naruto… I-"

"From the moment I received this hitai-ate, I was no longer an Academy student. There is no need to worry over me, Iruka-sensei." Naruto interrupted. "I have grown up now, I may have changed for better or for worse, but I am no longer the boy you used to know. Now I am… a _ninja_."

Iruka smiled. "I see… well, off you go guys. There are rooms with showers and a cafeteria. Oh, and there's a training hall too. I'll see you guys later." Iruka smiled before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Team 7 exited the room and decided to hit the showers first. "I'm absolutely filthy!" Naruto grumbled. "Aren't we all?" muttered Sasuke. "You guys are lucky you don't have long hair like us," murmured Kimi. Sakura stroked her hair. "I think I spend way too much time on my hair… if it were shorter I'd be able to spend more time training…"

Kimi grinned. I'll cut it for you in our room. Let's go." She turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "We'll meet you boys at the cafeteria in 40 minutes."

"Roger," they both said. Heading off to their room, Naruto ran ahead and locked the bathroom. "What do you think you're doing, dobe!" Naruto snickered. "Taking a long shower before you." Soon, the sound of running water came from the door, while Sasuke lay on his bead and poked at the curse mark on his neck. '_I better tell Kakashi about this… maybe after lunch._'

The sound of water stopped, as Naruto emerged with new clothes on and sopping wet hair. "Ah… that was nice." Sasuke went into the bathroom next, unaware of Naruto snickering behind his hands. It was 5 minutes later when Naruto was sure Sasuke would be unaware…"

Naruto began counting down in his head. '_3…2…1…_' A toilet flushed, and there was a pause. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" yelled out Sasuke. "NARUTO WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" Naruto put on an innocent look. "How could I flush the toilet when I was outside a locked door?"

Sasuke stared at him savagely. "You left a Kage Bunshin in there," he accused. "You have no _proof,_" Naruto said with glee. Sasuke muttered death curses and dressed quickly and left with Naruto towards the cafeteria.

Naruto rushed in the cafeteria, but bumped into someone. Unfortunately, that someone was Kumiko. Losing her balance from the crash, her tray went flying and landed on her head, along with the food. She stood up silently, took the tray off of her head, and slowly advanced on Naruto. He was scared now, and he tried to reason with her. "Eheh, it was just an accident! I SWEAR!"

He said no more as she beat him to a pulp. "I just finished showering and that's what happens!" she yelled savagely. "Sorry, it won't happen again!" He ran while looking back, but bumped into Heikaru. His tray was sent flying, straight onto Kumiko's head.

'_Uh oh…_' Naruto grabbed Heikaru. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" As he and Heikaru scrambled out the door, Kumiko slowly pulled the tray off of her head. "When I get my hands on them… They'll wish they were in the seventh level of hell for ALL ETERNITY!" she roared.

She immediately tore out of the cafeteria and chased the still running Naruto and Heikaru. Several minutes after her departure, they could hear loud screams from the other side of the building.

"NO! THAT DOESN'T GO THERE! GWAH!" Heikaru screamed. Everyone in the cafeteria winced.

"NO, PLEASE NO! GET THAT THING AWAY!" Naruto screamed. "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" It was very unpleasant to listen to.

After several minutes, the screams silenced. Curious, several people got up to see what had happened. What they saw was not a pretty sight. Heikaru lay on the floor; his zanbatou's handle sticking up his where the sun don't shine. Wincing, they continued on to find Naruto, pinned against the wall by two kodachis.

It was hard to describe. His legs and back were against the wall, his face pointing outward. The two kodachis had pinned Naruto's sleeve, shirt, and pant leg on either side, making him unable to remove the weapons. Sasuke looked at Naruto, face full of pity. "Uh… Sasuke, mind getting me down?"

Sasuke shook his head and smiled. "That's what you get for flushing the toilet while I showered." Naruto began shouting obscenities as he left the scene.

----

It was day four, and Naruto tried to avoid Kumiko at all costs. Yesterday's accident had been unfortunate, but it had been burned into her memory forever and she would never forget who caused it. Thus, it was this fateful afternoon that she challenged Naruto to a sword duel. "No genjutsu, ninjutsu, or taijutsu. Only kenjutsu is allowed. And no, you cannot use chakra of any kind, including the chakra you need to activate your fangs."

Naruto drooped, but agreed to the terms. She pulled out her kodachis and settled into a standard kenjutsu stance. Naruto pulled one of his swords out. He grabbed it with one hand and left his other hand free. He then settled into a standard sword stance

Not willing to attack, he watched her every move. When she suddenly charged forward, Naruto grinned. Quickly pushing with all his might, he clashed with her kodachi. Instantly, both swordsmen drew their second swords and clashed with them as well.

He and Kumiko jumped to opposite sides. "How is it that an amateur like me is matching your moves, neh?" Naruto teased. This served to infuriate her, causing her to be blinded by anger. She charged forward and Naruto crossed his fangs in an 'X' and jumped high into the air. He dropped down quick as lightning and cut down on her kodachi.

Kumiko grimaced, and put away her damaged kodachi. "You'll pay for that, literally. I'll make you pay for the repairs." She grinned. "And you _will_ pay, unless you want a repeat of yesterday." Naruto shivered in fear.

"Well, I feel the duel is over. I'll see you later." Kumiko head off with her team.

"Sheesh, she's crazy…" Naruto mumbled.

----

"Round Five, Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba. Please enter the arena."

Naruto calmly jumped off the railing and turned to Kiba.

"Bring it on, dogboy. Show me what you've got."

Kiba growled. "Let's see what you say after I beat your ass!"

"-cough- Let the match -cough- begin." Hayate lowered his hand.

Kiba rushed forward at a grinning Naruto and hit him with his strongest punch.

Naruto was sent flying across the arena. "Examiner, he won't be getting up for a while," Kiba said.

"Che, you think that measly punch alone would beat me?" Naruto stood up.

"**Ninpou: Jujin Bunshin!**" Kiba yelled. "**Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu!**"

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Kiba and Akamaru charged forward. '_I'm sorry Naruto, but you cannot win against Kiba and Akamaru._' Kurenai thought.

Kiba and Akamaru hit the middle Naruto, sending him flying. He grinned as he saw the other bunshin disappear. He leapt at Naruto, who smirked.

"**Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

"What?"

Kiba flew across the arena and hit the wall, leaving a crater. Kiba got up slowly when a voice called out, "**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!**" Two hands burst from the ground and pulled Kiba under, leaving his head exposed.

"Give up?" Naruto mocked.

"Like hell I will! **Gatsuuga!**"

Naruto quickly dodged the attack when Kiba burst from the ground with Akamaru like a drill. Sliding across the floor, he went through hand seals and slammed his palms on the ground.

Kiba narrowed his eyes. '_Doton jutsu?_' He jumped into the air with Akamaru. "Let's see you get me now!"

'_Good job, Kiba!_' thought Kurenai.

Kakashi and Naruto both grinned at this futile effort. '_Bingo._' "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" he yelled as he blew out a massive fireball.

'_What?_' was Kurenai's thoughts.

Kakashi chuckled. "Naruto's strategy was brilliant… fox-like you could call it. He went through the seals at lightning speed so that the enemy couldn't see what type it was. He slammed his palms on the floor to convince the enemy it was a Doton type."

'_Is Naruto that smart?_' Shikamaru thought.

'_Shit, I can't dodge._' "**Gatsuuga!**"

'_Good job Kiba. Drilling through reduces damage._' Kurenai smiled. '_I've taught him well._' Kakashi smirked. "Kiba has already lost the match. "What?" Kurenai asked. "Naruto is much stronger than he appears."

Naruto went through hand seals again and slammed his palms onto the ground.

"Hah! That won't work a second time! I won't fall for it! **Gatsuu**-GAH!" A minor earthquake shook the arena, making him fall off balance. This allowed Naruto to rush in and slash him on the chest slightly with the zanbatou and jump back.

"Che!" he grit his teeth in pain.

Naruto went through hand seals again, this time stopping on the Tiger seal.

"Now I've got you! **Gatsuu**-GUH!" A pillar of earth had shot up from the arena floor and hit his wound, stunning him.

"**Katon: Karyu Endan no**-!"

Hayate jumped in. "Kiba would be unable to dodge the fatal technique. Naruto wins the match."

Kurenai was shocked. '_The only hit he got on Naruto was in the beginning because he let him…_'

"Kakashi, who is that boy really?"

"That boy is Uzumaki Naruto, and always will be."

Kurenai glared. "You know what I meant."

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Well… he and Sasuke did defeat Momochi Zabuza and his hunter-nin partner… He and Sasuke also fought off ten low chuunin level ninja…"

Kurenai gaped while Kakashi continued. "In fact, that zanbatou he just used during the match used to belong to Zabuza himself."

"I understand." Kurenai said. '_How did he, a dead last, become so powerful?'_

'_This just makes me want to fight him more…_' Kumiko thought excitedly.

"I just noticed something… Where did that earth pillar come from?" Kurenai asked.

"Naruto-kun can manipulate the earth without hand seals." Kumiko explained.

"-cough- Next…" Hayate looked at the board. "Hanari Kimi and Midori Hari. Please enter the arena."

The two kunoichi jumped down and walked to the center. Kimi thought quickly. '_I only saw one Katon move, but I can assume she specializes in them. A good match up…_'

"Begin!"

Kimi jumped back, going through hand seals, Hari doing the same.

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

"**Katon: Karyudan!**"

The water dragon canceled out the floor and slammed Hari to the floor.

Heikaru watched impassively. '_This is the worst possible match up for Hari. That girl has massive chakra, enough to convert chakra to water._'

"**Suiton: Teppodama!**"

Hari braced herself for impact and took the 3 cannonballs straight on. Wincing in pain, she yelled, "**Katon: Nenshou Tosshin!**" Flames surrounding her, and she quickly disappeared from view.

"**Suiton: Suijinheki!**"

A flaming fist appeared, punching through the shield. Unfortunately the shield absorbed most of the damage and Kimi stayed her ground.

"**Suiton: Suroi no Jutsu!**"

Caught in the watery prison, Hari raised a hand in defeat.

"Winner, Hanari Kimi!"

"Woohoo! Way to go Kimi-chan!" Naruto whooped.

Kimi grinned. "You better watch your back during the finals, because I'll be after you."

"Next…" Hayate looked up. "Shinori Heikaru and Ren Kumiko."

The two teammates jumped down. Kumiko glared at Heikaru. "Teammate or not, you won't stop me from facing Naruto-kun." Heikaru grinned from ear to ear at this. "Since when did you start calling him _Naruto-kun_?"

Kumiko flushed. "Shut up and prepare to die."

"Oho! No need to get so angry! He already has a girlfriend anyway." Heikaru grinned.

Kumiko flushed further. "Shut…UP!"

Hayate looked at Kumiko, then at Heikaru. "-cough- Begin!"

Heikaru continued to taunt her. "Oi Kumiko, I don't think blondey likes temperamental girls."

Kumiko glared daggers at him. Heikaru continued, not scenting danger. "Honestly, I don't know what you see in him." Kumiko closed her eyes. '_Count to ten… take deep breaths… calm down…_'

"In fact, how can you still have the hots for him even after the tray incident at the cafeteria?" At this, Kumiko snapped.

She jumped at Heikaru. "GRAAAH!" she roared.

"Wha-? NONONONO! Anything but that! GWAAAAH! That doesn't go there! What are you doing? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kumiko hmphed and left a mangled Heikaru on the floor. "Uh… -cough- Winner, Ren Kumiko."

Kakashi sweatdropped. '_He should've known better than to provoke a female like that… Though I never knew she liked Naruto…_'

Heikaru grimaced as the medic-nin tended to him. "KUMIKO YOU TEMPERAMENTAL FREAK!" he roared before disappearing.

Kimi glared at Kumiko until she was far enough away. '_So she likes him? She won't have him! Only way she'll get him is over my dead body._'

"Neh, Kumiko-chan. I never knew you liked me." Naruto said while snickering.

BONK! "GAH!"

Naruto nursed the bump he had received from Kumiko's kodachi handle.

The Hokage stood up. Alright, winners of the preliminaries, get down here! From this box, you will choose a number and your fight in the finals will be against the person who's number is next to you."

One by one, they each picked a number.

1 - Uzumaki Naruto

2 - Hyuuga Neji

3- Uchiha Sasuke

4 - Sabaku no Gaara

5 – Aburame Shino

6 – Ren Kumiko

7- Sabaku no Temari

8- Nara Shikamaru

9- Sabaku no Kankuro

10- Hanari Kimi

"These are the following matches.

Naruto and Neji. Sasuke and Gaara. Shino and Kumiko. Temari and Shikamaru. Kankuro and Kimi."

The Hokage stared at them. "Are there any questions? No? Good. The Final Exam will take place in a month. During that time, remember to prepare yourself for the difficult test ahead. Dismissed!"

'_Naruto-kun… even with the new seal I placed on you, you exceed my expectations, as does Sasuke-kun. You two will be the link to my future… kukuku…_' And thus, Orochimaru disappeared into the shadows.

----

Chapter 8 is finally done. I had it written down on paper for several days, but I finally found the time today to write it up since I had less homework. Tomorrow I have a minimum day at school so I'll start writing up the new fanfic.

A/N: I am on writer's block, please help me! E-mail me or review and suggest please.

This fic wasn't that long, because I fell into writer's block. Suggestions please!

Thank you **hoyt** for your review. Takemikatzuchi is a name I found somewhere and it sounds cool. Sasuke probably won't die unless the Sasuke retrieval arc comes up.

Thank you **AznAltron** for your review. I have taken your suggestion into account and Naruto must learn how to control the elements from scratch.

Thank you **angel0fdestiny** for your review. The fanfic can swing either way, Kimi or Kumiko. I must admit that they are rivals now though. (Pretend Sasuke and Ino/Sakura)

Thank you **Midare Shinobi** for your review. Sakura doesn't really play a large role in the manga and anime either. It's not until the time skip that she actually plays an important role.

Thank you **Nightshade/Jonathan** for your review. I have taken what you said into account and edited it to say 10 rookie genins.

Thank you **Neotonix **for your review. I am probably going to go through with the Sasuke retrieval arc, which mind you, needs both Naruto and Sasuke. I could have Sasuke die at the end, but then what use does the time skip give us? I could kill Sasuke, Sakura, or Kimi though.

Thank you **TimeReaper **for your review. I try to make it flow, by slowly incorporating them so that they become friends. I leave out Hinata though, because she's way too nervous.

Thank you **Pan** for your review. In this fanfic, Sakura's Sasuke obsession is even greater, thus the need for her to be even more greedy.

Thank you **litoaznboi93** for your review. I love ending chapters with cliffhangers; it just makes my readers wait impatiently for more.

I'll be starting a new fic called Black Lightning. Itachi takes him as a child and becomes Akatsuki. He becomes a sleeper in Konoha until the time arrives for Akatsuki to strike.

There, all done. A good 4,500+ words, still pretty short. Please rate and review. Feel free to email me any suggestions. Until next time, Ja ne!

**Ninpou: Jujin Bunshin (Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone)**

**Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)**

**Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Exploding Shadow Clone Technique)**

**Gatsuuga (Double Piercing Fang)**

**Suiton: Suroi no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Prison Technique)**

**Katon: Karyudan (Fire Dragon Missile) **


	10. Strength

**Code: Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, because if I did, I'd be rich as hell.**

**Ben: Dude, first the computer crashed because of you, and then you made the chapter corrupt! What's wrong with you?**

**Code: Hey, screw off. I spent a good two hours working on the chapter, and I wouldn't screw it up.**

**Ben: Hey all, this is Ben. Code just happened to lose all of his chapter data, so we had to start from scratch. Well, the other one was from scratch too, but at least it had stuff.**

**Code: Sorry very much for the inconvenience. Now, prepare for… the next installment of Precious Person. Oh, and sorry for being a lazy, incompetent ass who kept putting off on typing up the chapter.**

**Ben: Damn right you should!**

**Code: STFU HOE!**

**Ben: On a side note, because we're so lazy and we haven't been working on Black Lightning or updating Precious Person, we decided to post up Chapter 9 anyways.**

**Precious Person**

Chapter 9: Strength

**Author:** To those of you that didn't read my profile, my computer's OS crashed, so I had to reinstall it. In the process, I lost every single one of my Fanfiction chapters… Then, when I started to rewrite the Precious Person chapter, inspired by Thundereaper, Microsoft Word 2003 went and freaking corrupted it, forcing me to delete it… sigh.

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One Uzumaki Naruto snored softly and quietly, the silence being undisturbed by external noises. His breathing created a slow rhythm, his chest rising up and down to an invisible beat. To the untrained eye, he would appear to have been asleep, but only to the untrained eye. Anyone who remotely knew Naruto, would know of the feelings that were going through the young Genin's mind.

His calm breathing ceased suddenly and his eyes snapped open into full awareness. It was the big day, the day that he began training in preparation for the Chuunin Exam Finals. It was this final stretch of the Exam that would determine his status, as either Genin or Chuunin. To become Hokage, one had to pass through each of the ranks, excluding ANBU. Thus, this was an important turning point, one that Naruto couldn't afford to miss. Also, the flak jackets were cool as hell, and Naruto had always wanted to wear the full Chuunin uniform. But then again, there was not a single drop of orange in the costume... and it didn't say anywhere that it was mandatory to wear such. He could probably get new clothes when he became Chuunin...

Sitting up in his small, yet comfortable bed, he held out his right hand and flexed it, placing all of his concentration onto his open palm. The sweat drops that were on the appendage levitated an inch from his palm, a testament to how hard he had been trying these past few days. The time it took for him to float up the water had drastically decreased, from hours to mere minutes, but still he was not satisfied. To become a Chuunin, one had to show... certain characteristics. One's ability to create winning strategies, to adapt to any given situation, to stay calm even under the direst of circumstances, to be a real ninja.

'_Even still,_' he thought with a bit of self-pity, '_My mastery over water is disappointing._ _I would've expected more improvement in the few days that I've been practicing._'

"**_What can you expect, brat?_"** Kyuubi growled in an annoyed manner inside of the blond's mind. **"****_Water is a healing element primarily by nature, and can be used to heal even the most grievous of wounds, if used properly. In addition to that, you can also use it for defense and offense. A triple-use element..._"**

'_Meaning that this stupid element will probably the hardest to master out of all five, right?_' Naruto finished bitterly. '_Oh for God's sake, why did I have to get this element to master now of all times? Why not any other element?_'

Indeed. Out of the four remaining elements, Water, Wind, Lightning, and Fire, the single most difficult to learn was chosen to be the element that he had to master before the one-month training probation of the Chuunin Exams ended. One month. The blond Genin seriously doubted his ability to master the element to battle-worthiness in a single month, let alone two or three months. It was common knowledge that mastering the use of the elements without hand seals was unusual... not impossible, but unusual. Often, such abilities took years to master, and it would require the same for him, as cited by Kyuubi, only that it would take him slightly faster to learn with the kitsune's guidance.

Sighing heavily, Naruto got up and pulled out some clothes from the closet. It was simple, a shirt, jacket, and a pair of pants. As he pulled on a black t-shirt, his mind wandered, thinking of any possible solution to his current dilemma. As he put his ninja pants on, that thought evolved into whether he could find someone to train him or not. As always, Kakashi was going to train Sasuke, but Naruto had to agree with his sensei this one time. Gaara was a force to be reckoned with.

'_And he'll need _all_ the help he can get in his match_.'

"**_The Shukaku kid... I doubt that you'd even dare to underestimate him, but be on your guard,_"** Kyuubi warned.** "****_Controlling that sand can't be the only move in his arsenal, or else a ninja of Kakashi's caliber would've taken him out years ago... Yeah, it can't be his only attack, or my name isn't Kyuubi no Youko._"**

He bound his right leg with bandages and placed his kunai holster over it, double checking to make sure they were filled. Clipping on a weapons pouch to the left side of his lower waist, Naruto's thoughts wandered to the aging Sandaime. Every time he had gone to the old man's office, there had been stacks and stacks of paperwork... It was more than likely that such paperwork would prevent Sandaime from training him. But after Kakashi and Sandaime, who else was there to train him? He dared not go under the tutelage of another ninja, who might very well have a grudge or bias against him.

Pulling on a pair of blue ninja sandals and a thin, orange jacket, Naruto opened the window of his apartment room and jumped off. It was then that he realized that he shouldn't have jumped off of a six-story building. Thinking quickly, he was reminded of his training with Kakashi. Gathering chakra quickly to his feet, and at the same time working to soften the point of impact using his Doton supremacy, Naruto landed on the floor. Oh how painful. It seemed that during the fall, his concentration had been muddled with by his panic, and he had put in far too much chakra, the effect being he landed very hard on the dirt floor. Even with the softened ground, his legs still hurt.

"**_Nice landing, I give it a seven out of ten,_" **commented Kyuubi, his chortling being loud enough for the blond to hear.

'_Shut your trap, you mangy old kitsune!_'

"**_Next time, I suggest you jump from floor to floor, you baka_."**

'_I'll keep that in mind, _teme' Naruto countered.

Ignoring the chronic pain that now inhabited his legs, specifically his calves, he hopped onto the nearest building with a chakra-powered jump and hobbled as fast as he could towards the Hokage tower. Perhaps Sandaime had a jutsu that could relieve him of this pain, however slight it was. Then again, perhaps the Hokage would be too busy with paperwork to help him. Even still, a simple healing jutsu couldn't take too long to be an interference to the paperwork, so Naruto doubted that he'd be ignored.

Pretty soon, he had reached the tower, hobble and all, and had begun hopping from floor to floor, window to window, until he had reached the Hokage's personal office. Naruto liked to dub it the 'Paperwork Hell of Doom'. There had never been a time in which there had been no papers on the desk. This was one of the main reasons that were forcing him to reconsider his dream of becoming Hokage. Did he really want to do all that paperwork? Being a Jounin who could take dangerous missions would be so much more... _exciting_. There was also the thought that continually haunted his mind that the people of Konoha would still view him as an unacceptable person, even if he became Hokage.

'_Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there,_' he decided.

Peering inside the window of the Hokage's office, he saw the never-disappearing pile of paperwork, with a bored Sandaime reading a book behind his desk. Peering in for a closer look, he made out several of the words, before flushing a crimson red. Normally, a book wouldn't do such a thing to the stoic Genin, but this wasn't just a book... It was a _perverted_ book. Not just any perverted book, but a book from the Icha-Icha series, known for its graphic detail and its being realistic.

'_To think that he reads it when he thinks no one is looking,_' thought Naruto, dejectedly. '_It seems that every adult in Konoha is a pervert, with varying levels..._'

"**_Huh_,"** Kyuubi scoffed, **"****_This kind of material is child's play for us kitsune._"**

'_I really don't want to know what you damned kitsune do that makes this child's play._'

"**_I figured you wouldn't,_"** the youkai said smugly.

Huffing in annoyance at the nuisance that was Kyuubi, Naruto opened the window stealthily, using his ninja skills. After all, what kind of ninja would he be if he couldn't even open a window from the outside? Not a good one, Iruka would tell the class. Along with untying ropes, opening windows was ninja basics, something every good ninja knew. Of course, Naruto, being the optimist he was, had gone straight to work mastering the window opening skill. Why? It was quite helpful with his pranks, he could tell you that. Untying ropes was useless when performing pranks, and thus was ignored in favor of something that was actually useful in the blond's risky ventures.

"I never knew that you read books like this, Sandaime-jiisan," Naruto said loudly and suddenly into the elderly Hokage's ears.

Literally jumping out of his seat, Sandaime fumbled with the book, snapping it shut quickly and stowing it away in a hidden drawer, which by chance, Naruto wasn't able to see. Oh well, he'd have many other chances in the future to see what kind of stuff Sandaime stored in such a hidden drawer. If only he left the room... Unfortunately, Sandaime rarely left the room, even to go home. He always stayed after to work on paperwork. Damn the paperwork.

"N-Naruto," the old man gasped, recovering after putting the perverted book away, "What brings you to my office?" '_And why doesn't anyone ever come through the door anymore?_'

"I don't have _anyone_ to train me for the Chuunin Exam Finals, Sandaime-jiisan!" Naruto whined. "Everyone that I personally know is busy."

"Hmm..." Sandaime rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling. Naruto looked up but saw nothing. What was so interesting up there?

"Well," he began, "There is _one_ possible sensei left that I can trust with my life, but..."

"He'll do!" Naruto said very loudly, his excitement getting the better of him.

"Are you sure? You cannot change your mind, and mind you, he may not be the best of role models."

Naruto grinned widely. "I don't care! If you can trust him, I can too! Bring it on!"

"Very well", sighed Sandaime. "Your new sensei will be the author of the acclaimed Icha-Icha series... Jiraiya of the Sannin."

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A slamming noise was heard, a yell thrown, an argument started. That was what was happening in Sandaime's office, teacher and student facing off in a war of words. The current argument: That Jiraiya should train Naruto. The Sennin, of course, rejected it immediately, letting loose the excuse that he needed to perform research for the next book of the series. Sandaime had to admit that he'd hate to wait longer for the next book, but Naruto _needed_ this training.

"I _told you_ a long time ago, sensei, that I'd never again take up an apprentice... Not after _his_ death," Jiraiya growled darkly. "You told me that it was fine, but now you want me to train _another_ gaki?"

Sandaime puffed on his wooden pipe slowly and thoughtfully, contemplating on a solution to getting Jiraiya to do the job that he was asking him to perform. Perhaps...

"I believe that you me a favor," the Hokage recalled. "Oh, it was several favors, I remember now."

"Favors don't involve breaking my earlier vows, sensei," Jiraiya said shortly. "Why doesn't his Jounin sensei teach him?"

"Kakashi is busy training Uchiha Sasuke in preparation for his match against Sabaku no Gaara."

"Uchiha, eh?" reminisced Jiraiya. "I remember how much of an baka Obito used to be, but it still hit everyone who knew him hard when he died."

At these words, an imaginary light bulb went off in Sandaime's head. Kakashi... Obito... Rin... Yondaime... Yes, he could pull out his _trump card_, a piece of information that would bend Jiraiya to his will, to the point where a bend of his finger would convey his wishes. Of course, this would be blackmail, but it was for a good cause... right?

Sandaime coughed inconspicuously and motioned for Jiraiya to lean over the table to listen. The Sennin, being who he was, sighed and leaned over, fully intent on rejecting his sensei's proposal no matter what he tried to use. Sandaime put down his pipe as he, too, leaned over.

"Tell me Jiraiya, who does that boy remind you of?"

The white-haired Sennin half-turned to glance at the blond that was sitting in the corner, trying to keep from fidgeting too much.

"Blond, blue eyes, impatient, short," he listed off, "possibly very stubborn and loud, idiotic looking..."

Then, he stopped, his mouth open in mid-sentence.

Those were the very descriptions that had been used to describe one Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime Hokage, as a Genin. No matter how many times Jiraiya ridiculed him, he always got up to try again. No matter how many times he failed, he kept at it. Arashi had never cared much for what other people thought about him, and pushed on regardless of his weaknesses. Jiraiya had seen this burning determination, and had chosen him out of the two others of the Genin team to become his apprentice.

Now, here he was, repeating the same thoughts that had been going through his head when Arashi had been introducing himself, and yet, the boy reminded him of his precious apprentice. There was a difference though – the presence of three, sharp whisker-marks on either cheek. Why did those marks remind him of something? That's when his internal light bulb went off. Yes, didn't the baby that Arashi had sealed the Kyuubi into have the exact same whisker marks?

Jiraiya's facial coloring paled as he remembered the rumors that had been flying about Arashi a few weeks prior to the Kyuubi attack... rumors about his _child_. He had always dismissed them as rumors, believing that Arashi couldn't possibly be slick enough to find a girl and get laid as such. Then, Arashi had appeared in the sealing room with a blond baby out of all things. Blond hair was a rarity in Konoha, with the only other clan having the same hair color being the Yamanakas, and even then, they had platinum-blond hair, compared to Arashi's golden-blond hair.

"The rumors were true, Jiraiya," Sandaime whispered gravely. "Before he died, he made me swear to never reveal his child's heritage."

"Why?" Jiraiya hissed in return. "If you had revealed his heritage, then he wouldn't have had to endure all the abuses in his life!"

"You have to remember, that Arashi had many enemies. Some would even willingly sacrifice their lives in order to kill him. What better than to kill his son, the next best thing? The child of the greatest shinobi in Konoha's history?"

"Nothing else," the white-haired Sennin admitted grudgingly. "I suppose he would've gotten spoiled and pampered, like that Uchiha kid, if the village had found out that he was his son."

"I have to admit, that even while growing up the way he did, he is a great shinobi, and will probably become even greater, should you take him under your wing."

"Alright sensei, you win, I'll train him for a month," said Jiraiya, sighing heavily. "Just don't ask for any more favors like these."

"I won't," Sandaime reassured. "And if I do, it'll be about Naruto."

"That's his name eh?"

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto." Sandaime looked at the young blond that was now making silly faces to entertain himself while waiting for the adults to stop talking. "For some reason, the name seems fitting..."

"It does," Jiraiya agreed. "Like a maelstrom, he is unpredictable. I can tell you that just by him being _his_ son"

"There is one other matter that we must discuss of, Jiraiya," said Sandaime. "There is the matter of Orochimaru appearing in Konoha's boundaries."

"What!?" Like before, Jiraiya's face paled. "He was in Konoha?"

"Yes, just a few days ago."

Orochimaru, another of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, had betrayed the village years ago, during the time when Kazama Arashi had become the Yondaime Hokage. Whether out of jealousy, of madness, or out of betrayal of not being chosen as the next Hokage, Orochimaru left the village, fighting with Jiraiya in the process. Jiraiya still remembered it like it was yesterday... when he had discovered Orochimaru leaving stealthily through the woods. Of course, the white-haired Sennin asked what his longtime friend was doing, which resulted in a quick lie by the pale counterpart.

Now, one may speculate on this, but Jiraiya wasn't as dumb as he acted. Once he found out about Orochimaru's intentions, he became set to stop him. Throughout their life, they had been together, as teammates, as friends. When one of your only and closest friends tried to leave the village, it was painful. When that friend tried to kill you, it made your heart ache. Jiraiya had fought with Orochimaru, and was on the brink of losing when a passing squad of ANBU had dropped in, forcing the worn out snake Sennin to flee.

Everyday he asked himself, what had made Orochimaru leave the village? What did he not like about the village? It couldn't be just about the rank, or the power, there had to be something deeper. There had to be some other explanation. Thus, Jiraiya searched. He searched all over Konoha for signs about why Orochimaru had left and become a nukenin. For days, weeks, months, even years, he neglected his own life in favor of the pursuit of this knowledge.

That was when he found his ex-teammate's journal, hidden inside of a large, stuffed snake inside of an abandoned laboratory. Reading through it, he had discovered a horrible fact: Orochimaru had been insane even before he had become a Chuunin, a little bit after their Genin years. From his reading, Jiraiya deduced that Orochimaru, while insane, had been only very mildly insane in the beginning, his condition worsening as the years passed by. Jiraiya grieved, for not being able to help his friend out of this condition. Still, he knew that there was no other options. Orochimaru was _insane_ to a high degree, and it would now be impossible to help him.

As much as he hated to even think of it, he had to kill Orochimaru. He had to stop his friend in his path towards the final goal of immortality. Because of this, Jiraiya worked weeks on end towards developing a spy network – _the_ spy network of the Elemental Countries, one that was unparalleled by any ninja country or village. Using this, he began gathering information. The information could be anything from the food listings on a menu to the location of dangerous nukenin. There was nothing that could get around this network, and he used it to locate Orochimaru, following him from secret base to secret base, marking them in his map each time he left one.

Now, Orochimaru had returned to Konoha, where had all began. The snake Sennin was ready, Jiraiya knew. After all these years, the Sennin was here to complete the last stretch of his goal, but Jiraiya wouldn't let him finish it. Nobody would. This was just another reason for him to train the blond gaki, to strengthen, to empower him, to make him the sword that would ultimately defeat Orochimaru. Jiraiya knew Orochimaru, he knew that he'd never be able to kill his friend, even if he had the will. Orochimaru was just too sneaky, slithering through cracks here and there and escaping his grasp.

For now though, there was one thing left for him to accomplish before passing on.

"Orochimaru..." he said quietly. "To think that after only two decades, he's nearly completed what he started."

"Naruto was attacked by him in the Forest of Death," Sandaime informed him. "He put a seal on him, specifically the **Gogyou Fuuin**."

"Well, why didn't you get someone to unseal it?" Jiraiya asked.

"There is no one in the village that I can trust, other than you and Kakashi, with this task."

"Hey, I've got a question," the Sennin muttered. "Why the hell didn't _you_ unseal it? I sure as hell know that you know it."

"You know that I'm aging," said Sandaime, throwing the excuse shamelessly. "What if I had made a mistake?"

"Senile old coot," growled Jiraiya. "One day, that little excuse of yours won't work on me."

"You're still twenty years younger than me. I'll always have that excuse."

"Hey gaki, come over here!" Jiraiya called out to Naruto. "I need to do something."

"Do what?" Naruto asked in suspicion.

"Just come over here," sighed Jiraiya in exasperation. "It's nothing bad or perverted, I promise you that."

Naruto walked up to the tall... _very _tall Sennin. He must've been at the least two times his height, possibly three. Now he felt really small.

"Take off your jacket and shirt."

"You said that it wasn't perverted!" accused Naruto. "You were lying!"

"He isn't lying, Naruto," Sandaime said soothingly. "He needs to do something important."

A doubtful expression still on his face, he nevertheless took off his orange jacket and black t-shirt. Leaving them on a heap on the floor, he turned to Jiraiya, who looked to be thinking deeply.

"Alright, raise your arms into the air, like this," he said, raising his arms skywards. "Go 'Banzai!'"

Still skeptical about what the Sennin was going to do, Naruto slowly raised his arms into the air.

"Ban-"

That's when Jiraiya struck, his hands becoming ablaze with blue chakra, he thrust his open palm, fingers stretched outward, and slammed it into Naruto's gut, knocking the breath out of the blond. What followed would've been chaos, had Naruto done something different.

"**Gogyou Kaiin**!"

"-Hook!"

Naruto doubled over in pain, yelling obscenities at the white-haired Sennin, who at the moment was smirking victoriously over him, as if he had won the war, not merely the battle. This pissed the blond off, who very much didn't like being caught unawares, especially by someone who he was supposed to trust. Then again, he had always done well in the heat of battle, thinking up successful strategies to counter a specific move or style, or to simply overwhelm the enemy.

"What the hell was that for, you asshole!" he half-screamed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Be grateful, brat," growled Jiraiya in return. "I removed the seal that Orochimaru placed on you during the Chuunin Exams. It was serving to seal up Kyuubi's chakra and to muddle with your chakra control. If I hadn't removed it, you would have never made any progress in training, because you would have been held back by the seal. Now, if you could be as kind as to follow _me_, we can get started on the beginnings of your training, unless you don't want to partake in it.

"Oh hell no! I'm coming with you, you teme!" Naruto said heatedly. "I'm going to improve so fast that your jaw is going to hit the floor."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," grumbled Jiraiya. "You'd be lucky to even survive the training that I'm going to put you through, gaki."

----

* * *

----

Kimi panted heavily as she made her second run around the inside of the walls of Konoha. During her run, she had met with an overenthusiastic Maito Gai, who was also running. She had found out that he did this every other day, to keep his stamina in tip-top shape. Of course, she soon lost interest and tuned out the rest of his message after hearing the word 'youth'. Oh, how she hated that word, especially in the way that he used it. Plus, his bowl-haircut was creepy.

Pretty soon, she had noticed that her blond hair was once again hanging annoyingly over her face and eyes. She set out to remedy that by withdrawing a hair band from her weapons pouch, which normally would've been filled with weapons, and gathered her hair into yet another ponytail. She couldn't imagine why her hair kept falling apart while she ran. Kimi stopped at park bench, leaning against it so that she could catch some of her breath. What was a park doing right next to the wall anyways? In a siege, the walls would go down first, ruining the park.

'_The landscapers probably assumed that Konoha was safe and wouldn't get themselves into a war,_' she rationalized. It would probably have been true, because ever since the end of the Second Great Shinobi Wars, Konoha had been submerged in prosperity, excluding Kyuubi's attack. Even now, though they hadn't completely recovered from the loss of all those ninja, they were still by far, one of the strongest shinobi nations.

She changed direction, heading towards a training grounds deeper in Konoha, but still near the very edge. Her thoughts wandered back to the Chuunin Exams, particularly Naruto and Sasuke's temporary rampage while being berserk. They had each killed someone... not that that was a serious thing – All three of them had killed at least once – but at that point, they had been enjoying it. _Enjoying_ it. Only the sick of mind actually enjoyed killing, and Kimi knew that neither Naruto nor Sasuke belonged or was supposed to belong in that category of people.

Looking back, she reasoned that it had been Kyuubi's work. That the kitsune had somehow taken partial control over her best friend. Rokubi had begged to differ, hypothesizing that Naruto had seized Kyuubi's power and become what he had become. Of course, Kimi refused to believe this. After all, good-natured Naruto had been her friend for many years, and she would've known if he had been so desperate for such power. Power... what a corrupting influence it was. Very few nukenin actually deserted their home villages for the reason that the village's rule was unjust. Most of the time, it was in search for _more_ power.

"**_Do you _still _believe that your little blond friend is completely innocent?_"** Rokubi questioned, yawning after the sentence. He had just woken up from a nice little nap, to find that Kimi was once again disbelieving of the possibility that he had introduced.

'_How can I believe a demon?_' she retorted. '_You're trying to crumble my mental defenses._'

"**_True, you can't believe something like me, but trust me on this, if there was a way to free myself, I would've found it a long time ago._"**

'_What do you mean?_'

"**_There is no benefit for me if I break down your mental barriers. All it would serve to do is make you less of a kunoichi and more insecure, something that could cost you your life, in turn, costing me my life,_" **he explained. **"****_In all truth, it's better for me if you're even stronger, mentally and physically. I do less work, you have a lower chance of dying, and we're all a happy family._"**

'_I suppose... Still, I can't let Naruto give himself to the darkness for that kind of power. To do that, I need to get stronger._'

"**_What's your reasoning?_"**

'_He seeks power because he wants to protect his friends, me included. If his friends are strong, then he doesn't need to look for more power, because they'll be able to protect themselves._'

"**_And what happens to his dream of becoming Hokage?_"** Rokubi replied almost lazily. **"****_How will he achieve his dream without power?_"**

'_Being Hokage isn't just about how much power you wield!_' Kimi thought fiercely, slowing her pace to a jog. '_Hokage of the past have shown a capacity to think for the best of the village; they loved the village and sought to protect it._'

"**_Do you honestly think he harbors no bad feelings and thoughts towards the villagers that have abused him for the majority of his life?_"**

'_What-_'

"**_His pain lives on,_"** interrupted Rokubi. **"****_He lives in constant fear of losing those who are precious to him, and will stop at no end to continually gain power. That power will assure him that he will be able to protect you and his friends from any situation._"**

'_That's not-_'

"**_And then, when the village refuses to acknowledge his power. Refuses to see him as a human being, even after doing all that he's done, he will break. Yes, he will break, and he will flee. Flee to a village where power is appreciated. Kirigakure no Sato for example._**_"_

'_Don't you _ever_ suggest that!_' Kimi roared in her mind.

"**_Whoever said that I was suggesting?_"** Rokubi questioned devilishly. **"****_I promise you this, Naruto _will_ do something drastic, whether it is now or in the future. His hidden emotions will bubble to the surface, and he will lose himself to his inner darkness._"**

'_What? How do you know this?_' she demanded.

Rokubi laughed harshly, his voice tinted with evil. Without giving a response to her question, his active presence disappeared from her mind. Kimi cursed aloud, drawing several stares, but she ignored this. What did Rokubi mean when he had said that Naruto's pain lived on? Clenching her fists, she slammed the nearest tree with all of her might, creating a medium-sized dent. Any onlookers immediately began walking away, fearing the blond's wrath. Breathing heavily in frustration, she stalked further into Konoha, heading towards the Hero's Memorial. Standing next to the stone in complete silence had always calmed her down somewhat.

Making her way towards her destination, she was reminded of her family. Oh, how she missed them. If she lost Naruto like she lost her family, she just might lose it, and Kimi knew that. Naruto was the only anchor to reality that she had left. Ever since Kimi had escaped from Kirigakure, Naruto had become her support, as a friend... a _best_ friend. Without him, without his never ending support, she would crumble and her barriers would fall.

A few tears appeared in her eyes, threatening to fall. He had become a good friend, and possibly something even more than that, and to think that she could still lose that, after all the two had gone through before and after the years that they had met each other... life just wasn't _fair_. She placed a solemn hand on the Hero's Memorial, when she realized that she had gotten here unknowingly. She nearly laughed at being so caught up in her memories and thoughts, but became grave once more as she traced a finger over the name _Uchiha Obito_. After a little research, she had found out that this Obito had been on Kakashi's team, and had died during the Second Great Shinobi War.

'_Kakashi-sensei lost his best friend... In fact, they didn't even know that they were best friends... That's just like Naruto and Sasuke. They always insult each other but it's always in a good-natured way._'

She smiled ruefully at the antics of her two friends. Competing with each other, insulting their skills, ignoring and raging at one another. The two, though completely opposite in terms of personality, were friends. Underneath all of the insults and rivalry, they were friends. Naruto was possibly Sasuke's best friend. On the side, one could have more than one best friend, so Kimi supposed that both she and Sasuke were Naruto's best friends. She, the first to acknowledge him, and he, a member of a tragedy, who had experienced the same loneliness as Naruto.

'_It's funny how life works,_' Kimi mused silently. '_Life takes away your family and gives you caring friends in return. Life takes away your previous life and gives you another, newer and better. And yet, life as a ninja is painfully short, and we should enjoy it as much as we can... yet, many ninja don't. They take their work too seriously, and end up regretting it as they die. I don't want to be like that,_' she resolved. '_I want to be able to cherish the memories that I build up here, to always look back upon them and smile in happiness._'

The slowly building tears fell, a sad smile on her face. Her expression turned into one of surprise though, when she felt a firm hand grasp her shoulder. Whirling around in a combat stance, it was met with a hearty laugh from an elderly man. He had many wrinkles and seemed about sixty years old. His bald head only served to support her opinion. His beard was a brilliant white and fell down a few inches past his jaw. His steady, kindly eyes took notice of her tears as he tapped his cane knowingly.

"You cry out of happiness, yet you are still sad, child. Why is that?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"I cry because I am happy that I was able to have such good friends, but I'm still sad because I may lose them in the near future, to the seduction of power," she replied cautiously. She wasn't sure whether or not to trust the old man, so she took care to hide as much information and yet still speak the truth. Though ninja were supposed to deceive, Kimi didn't care much for deceiving citizens of the village, who you were supposed to protect. Well, not telling them about her being a jinchuuriki was another story. It'd be likely that they'd have poured abuse on her as well as Naruto.

"Power," the elderly man murmured, "Such a great thing to behold, yet so vile a thing, corrupting at a human being. Why does your friends seek power?"

"To protect those who are precious to them," she responded immediately, the answer being drilled into her head. Kakashi had explained it thoroughly, that a ninja needed a purpose in life to keep their humanity. Without that reason to live, a ninja would become a heartless killer. Naruto chose to protect his friends. Sasuke chose to avenge his family. Kakashi chose to continue his friend's legacy. Kimi chose to be faithful to her precious people... but that's where the problem struck. What if her precious people didn't stay faithful to _her_?

"Power, the ability to defeat enemies... Strength, the ability to save and protect people, ideals, and ways of life. They seek power, when what they truly need is strength." He spoke this with soft-spoken authority. "I can make _you_ stronger, give you strength, to protect them from the evils of corruption. With that strength, you could protect your friends _and_ show them the truth. The difference between power and strength."

"What _is_ the difference?" asked Kimi, wanting to know.

"My child," he said, "Strength is a precious thing. It is said that you become strongest when you are protecting something that is truly precious to you. True strength emerges with a person's honest will to protect, allowing them to persevere, to never give up. Though people who are strong may not be able to defeat those who are powerful, those who are strong have learned the meaning of strength, and become even stronger to protect at a higher level. At that point, nothing but the gods can stop that true strength. Much like the incident with the honorable Yondaime-dono and Kyuubi."

"If that is true strength," she began, "then I want to partake in it. I want to protect my friends at all cost, even if it means giving up my own life for them."

"Very well. I, Jiriki Heikin, former Jounin of Kusagakure no Sato, will make it my mission to make you stronger," the now revealed elderly man vowed. " I will teach you the taijutsu style of Heikin, where one uses a balance of speed, power, and flexibility to dominate an opponent. This leaves only one more thing to complete... Are you willing to do this, to train under me?"

"Yes," Kimi said firmly, clenching her fists in determination. "I agree. What are your terms?"

"Hmm," Heikin emitted amusedly, "All I require of you is to never waver in that path that you have chosen."

"Fair enough."

She smiled grimly. She'd probably have to go to hell and back to become strong enough in time for the Chuunin Exam finals. Currently, she didn't mind whether or not she entered a state of near-death, as long as her goal was accomplished. Okay, now she was starting to act like Sasuke... Anyways, it wasn't obsession like Sasuke's, but more of a pure determination to go through with the training process, to reach the end. That was a relief. She wouldn't have let herself live it down if she had become a second Sasuke, broody and emotional as hell. Her grim smile became softer, the topic returning to her friends - Sasuke and Naruto.

'_I will become a crutch... a shield. I will halt the evil that lurks inside of you both. Naruto, Sasuke, become stronger, and I'll become stronger in return. Together, we three will become a mountain, and no human will be able to budge us!_'

Her smile widened as she spotted in the distance, a familiar head of golden-blond hair, which was consequently following after a head of long white hair.

----

* * *

----

Naruto took in the clothes that the man in front of him was wearing. This man, who was now his sensei, sure had a strange taste in clothes. He had spiky, long white hair that was tied in a ponytail that fell to about hip level. Instead of a hitai-ate, he wore a horned metal headpiece that had the kanji for Oil (Abura) inscribed in it. Over a long fishnet shirt, Jiraiya had on a green, traditional Japanese top. Over the top, he had on a red open vest with yellow circles on either side of the chest that went down to the thighs. As pants, he wore matching traditional Japanese pants, which were green as well. Instead of ninja sandals, he wore a pair of geta, which looked quite strange on him. Unlike Kakashi, he wore a special type of hand gloves. Well, it technically wasn't a glove. All it was was a hard piece of square leather armor that was held down to the back of his hand by a strap. Quite honestly, Naruto believed that Jiraiya looked like a gama. With the horned headpiece and the coloring of the garments, he really did resemble one. Coincidentally, he was also the Gama Sennin of Konoha.

'_How fitting_,' Naruto thought sardonically.

"Hey gaki," Jiraiya called out, turning his head sideways to give a sideways glance to the short blond that was trailing him, "Tell me, what do you know? What kind of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu do you know? What kind of training have you received? Who did you train under?" He seemed actually interested in training him, unlike some others that Naruto could name right off the bat.

"Well," started Naruto, looking up at the sky to gather his thoughts, "I learned tree climbing, water walking, chakra suppression, stealth, and I also know a lot of high-level ninjutsu. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**, **Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu**, and **Katon: Yurika no Jutsu**. I also have a mastery over the elements, to a certain degree. Like, I'm working on my Suiton supremacy, while my Doton supremacy is very good. Oh yeah, and I have this crazy doujutsu that has no specific theme attached to it, so I don't know how to name it."

Jiraiya's left eyebrow raised sky-high in surprise at the sheer amount of abilities that Naruto possessed. While the two continued walking further from the center of Konoha, Jiraiya pondered a solution to his current dilemma. Naruto knew too much for him to effectively teach and train the blond, because it would be too much of a hassle to train him in each different area specifically. A sudden idea suddenly hit Jiraiya, as if a hammer had just slammed down on his head. Why hadn't he thought about it before? He even used it, to some extent.

'_He has Kyuubi sealed in him, as well as being _his_ son, leading to the fact that he more than likely has a monstrous chakra capacity,_' he reasoned. '_Therefore, with that chakra capacity, he can perform a special type of training. _The _special training. The one that no one alive can use because they don't have high enough reserves. It might only still be theoretical, but the Kage Bunshin training method should do the trick. Man, I am _so_ smart, I should get an award or something._'

"First thing's first gaki, I'm going to start out with training you physically and working on your 'masteries'." Jiraiya began going through the process in his head. "While you improve on your mastery of both of those elements, Doton and Suiton, I'll be training your body to become stronger and faster. Oh, and I'm going to drill in reflexes into that pathetic body of yours."

"How the hell can I do two things at once, old man?" Naruto asked confusion. "Let me guess, make clones." Sarcasm dripped almost visibly off of his words, making Jiraiya grit his teeth in frustration.

'_Old man!? Just you wait gaki, just you wait. I'll design the _perfect_ payback for your insolence._'

"That's quite easy," he explained. "You use Kage Bunshin."

"What?" said Naruto, confused even further. "How will Kage Bunshin help me in my training? They're for combat use, aren't they?" Well, he had only used it for combat use ever since he learned it. He had supposed that that was their only function, to assist the user in battle. How Jiraiya explained it, they could help with training. Seemed like total bullshit...

"Before I explain that, let me ask a question. What's the difference between mastery of Doton and Doton supremacy?"

"You don't know?" the blond asked, looking strangely at the white-haired Sennin. "Well, never mind. Kyuubi explained it to me, so I guess you wouldn't know the difference either. Mastery of Doton and Doton supremacy are one and the same, that you should already know. I can interchange the two phrases in a sentence to get the same meaning. The thing is, demons call it Doton supremacy, while we humans call it mastery of Doton. Since Kyuubi is in me and all, he's kind of rubbed off on me, so I use both terms."

"Figures that demons would try to make it that much harder to understand," Jiraiya grumbled, nodding his head in understanding. "Look kid, from now on, call it by the supremacy. It's easier on the tongue, and provides for less confusion when using both." After receiving a voiced affirmative from Naruto, Jiraiya sped up the pace a little. "Come on gaki, at this rate we'll never get there. And you said that I was an old man..."

"You _are_ an old man, you geezer," replied Naruto. "You've got to be fifty years old if you're a Sennin. That kind of age is pushing it, don't you think?"

"Your outfit is too much on the eyes, but I don't comment on it," complained Jiraiya. "So stop complaining about my age. Can I help it if you were born almost forty years later than I was? Gee, stop discriminating."

The two continued in silence, walking past buildings, through streets and training grounds, and crawling through the underbrush, until they arrived at Jiraiya's training spot. It was very nice, a brook running through the training grounds; the same brook that passed through Training Grounds 3, where they had all became Genin. (Note: In Naruto Shippuuden Episodes 001-002, Kakashi tells Naruto and Sakura to go to the 'Third training ground', which turns out to be the same place they turned Genin. Thus, it is now the third, and not the seventh training ground as is commonly stated in fanfiction.) Trees dotted the outer ring of the training area, creating one large clearing in the center. There were no extra noises, nothing other than nature, and it created a sense of calmness.

"Okay gaki, show me your supremacies. Start with Doton first."

Naruto nodded, and settled into a normal fighting stance. Bringing his right arm up to be perpendicular to his body, he turned his hand onto its back and flicked upward using his wrist. Two pillars of earth shot out from the ground at high speed, measuring four feet in length and half-a-foot in width. This of course earned several nods of approval from the Sennin. Then, using the same hand, a look of pure and complete concentration appeared on Naruto's face.

Jiraiya looked on in confusion. Where was that supremacy that Naruto was supposed to be performing? Then he remembered. _I'm working on my Suiton supremacy._ Looking more carefully, squinting his eyes in the process, Jiraiya could make out half-a-dozen water droplets floating about an inch above the blond's outstretched hand. It seemed when Naruto had said that he was working on it, he meant that nothing had really been accomplished. Man, this was going to be a hard month. Shaking his head in disapproval, he took Naruto by the collar and hauled him across the ground. Ignoring the blond's yells, he threw him into the center of the brook, with Naruto just barely releasing chakra in time so as to not fall in.

"What the freaking hell was that for, you perverted old bastard!" Naruto screamed in annoyance and rage. "Why don't you ever _warn me_ when you go and do this crap!?"

"Shut up gaki," was the reply of the white-haired Sennin. "Being in the presence or in direct contact with the water will help you. Picture it and shape it."

Grudgingly admitting that the Sennin might have a point, Naruto stubbornly refused to voice it aloud, and merely plopped himself down onto the surface of the brook. Closing his eyes, he slowed his breathing, taking in the noise of the running water. It calmed him, gave him a feeling of peace that he rarely felt. He pictured the water, the feel and sound adding to the realness, adding to the image. Concentrating as he had been doing before, he pictured the running water taking shape into a sphere. A floating sphere of water. Hearing a grunt from Jiraiya, he cautiously opened his eyes to look at the final product.

It was a floating sphere of water, just as he had imagined. One problem though. It was only two-thirds of an inch in diameter.

Deadpanning, he turned questioningly towards Jiraiya, who was scribbling fiercely and quickly in a small notebook. Noting that there was nothing perverted in the immediate area, he assumed that the notebook held actual notes.

"Great, gaki," he muttered while continuing to write. "Though you might not think it, that's a pretty good improvement in such short of a time period." Snapping his notebook closed, he closed the distance between himself and Naruto, standing on the edge of the wide brook. "You and I can't really expect for your supremacy to be mastered in a single month, but I'll work you day in day out until it's satisfactory enough to be used in combat. Oh, and make a Kage Bunshin."

Nodding at the first few statements but staring at the last, Naruto nevertheless followed his temporary sensei's instruction, placing his hands into the all too familiar cross. A Kage Bunshin popped into existence, the smoke clouds accompanying him dissipating quickly after the summoning. Taking wide strides across the water, Jiraiya grasped the Kage Bunshin's arm and led him away. By away, it meant going across the entire training area, only to stop at the very edge of the forest.

The Sennin stooped down to the Kage Bunshin's ear level, him being so tall and the flesh-and-blood copy being so short, and began whispering something into the his ear. At the distance the two were at, it was impossible to hear anything, so for the next few moments, Naruto sat and waited. After what seemed to be a few short moments, he could see the eyes of the Naruto copy widen, his mouth opening wide to yell something – before Jiraiya punched him out of existence, the cloud of smoke dissipating as quickly as when he had been summoned.

Naruto blinked once. Twice. Three times. A surge of information entered his head, and disregarding how he had come into possession of that info, he instead processed it. He stood silent for a few moments longer, before his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Jiraiya, who had once again closed the distance, a smile of amusement on the Sennin's face.

"Y-You... you PERVERT!" the blond screamed hoarsely, shaking an enraged fist in the air. His normally tan face was now a deep crimson, having flushed darkly. A clip from the Icha-Icha series told to a minor would do that, for sure.

Jiraiya grinned in a feral manner, showing off his teeth. He very much enjoyed teasing the blond, just as he had done with his previous blond apprentice. Smile still on his face, he popped out a question.

"Tell me, gaki, how did you get hold of that information? Hmm?"

Naruto stopped his raging abruptly, processing the second bit of information that he had filed away for later access, but had been brought back up by Jiraiya's question. Realization dawned on his face, a mixture of shock, surprise, and confusion appearing. What he couldn't understand was, what was the damned significance of that? So what, Kage Bunshin returned all information when they died, or when they were dispelled. So what?

"Now, take that concept and apply it to training," Jiraiya explained, as if reading the blond's mind and seeing the flying questions. "If you have one Kage Bunshin that studies and works with you on perfecting a jutsu, that training goes two times faster. Make fifty, and that same training goes fifty times faster." He grinned at his own genius. "For many, it's impossible to do because of the sheer amount of chakra needed, but you..."

He stopped there, but Naruto knew the rest of the sentence. He... was a jinchuuriki, specifically containing Kyuubi no Youko, the calamity of the human world. If having such massive chakra stores allowed him to train like such, imagine the possibilities! The paths now opened were tremendously variant. Naruto realized this, as a determined grin appeared on his face. This way, he could become stronger, faster.

"I'll make the real you, you, perform grueling physical training, because only information and mental experience travels through the mental link that you share with the Kage Bunshin," the Sennin told the blond. "Now, if you were training to master a style, this method would work. Nada for actual physical training though. While you do this, we'll have a small amount of Kage Bunshin work on your Doton and Suiton supremacies."

"Why only a few?" Naruto asked. Obviously, he wanted to train _fast_.

"If you limit the amount of Kage Bunshin that you use, it doesn't wear you out completely and leaves you with enough energy to continue on for the whole day," he explained. "Also, the massive influx of information would be hell on your brain, so until you get used to that, we'll start out in small numbers. Thirdly, rather than keeping up a large amount of Kage Bunshin in a short amount of time, keeping up a smaller amount for a longer amount of time does more help to your maximum chakra capacity. Adding to the third point, it also works on your chakra control, because you need to maintain as minimum use of chakra as possible, yet enough for the Kage Bunshin to be sustained."

"So, it's triple-bladed. It improves how fast I can process information, improves my chakra capacity _and_ control, and improves my supremacies." Naruto looked at the Sennin strangely, as if Jiraiya had grown a second head. "Since when were you so smart?"

"When I'm not using my brain towards training and ninja crap," began Jiraiya, "I use it on more... _perverse_ ideas. Meaning, I can be smart whenever I want to, unlike _you_."

Ignoring the blatant attack on his intelligence, Naruto once again put his hands together to form a cross.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Fifty Kage Bunshin appeared, all of them sporting similarly eager grins. They were all eager to start training, in preparation for their utter domination in the Chuunin Exam Finals.

"Alright," Naruto announced to them, "Half of you work on the Doton supremacy, and the other half work on the Suiton supremacy. Any questions?"

"How do we split ourselves up, boss?" one of the Kage Bunshin asked, raising his hand for identification purposes. "We're all you, and it's hard to argue with ourselves."

"Janken!" another Kage Bunshin yelled out. "Winners work on Doton supremacy, losers on the Suiton!" The others agreed with hearty outbursts, so Naruto left them to their own devices. He gazed at Jiraiya unwaveringly, giving the older man a look that said, _So, what's next? _Even his posture seemed to emit that sentence, him standing in an arrogantly confident way and all.

"We're going to train _elsewhere_, gaki," said the white-haired Sennin, walking up to Naruto.

"B-But ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled in reply, his outburst startling the Sennin and causing his right eye to twitch dangerously, "I heard that Kage Bunshin lose their minds after surpassing a certain distance from the user!"

Jiraiya smacked the insolent blond on the head, partly for the outburst, and partly for the subtle accusation of him not knowing what he was trying to teach. He was a _Sennin_ for God's sake. There was barely anything that he didn't know the answer to!

"Che, that only applies to persons with low chakra capacity, baka gaki!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Because of your maximum capacity, your clones were created with a greater maximum distance before they lose their mind. Remember, the more chakra put into it, the greater the distance. Also, if you pass that maximum distance, they will begin to feed their mind with the chakra that they were created with, to supply their self-thought process."

"How do you know all this?" Naruto's voice sounded suspicious. After all, who _wouldn't_ be suspicious when a pervert like this man suddenly became so smart?

"I'm a Sennin," was the reply. "I've also measured the distance. Five miles!"

"Five miles!? Well, how far are_ we_ going?"

Jiraiya grasped Naruto's shoulders with both of his hands, before they disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves. They reappeared on a mountain top, which wasn't really much of a mountain and more of a very tall hill. A sense of nausea appeared in the blond's gut, having been transported at very high speeds through the use of the convenient **Shunshin no Jutsu**. Wobbling out of the white-haired Sennin's grasp, he turned around to face Jiraiya.

"How the hell did you do that without hand seals?" he asked slowly, still gathering his wits.

"Skilled shinobi," Jiraiya said, emphasizing skilled, "practice their jutsu until it's _completely_ mastered, allowing for them to use it without performing hand seals. Often times, only the most basic can be mastered like this, because of the complexity of other jutsu. You, on the other hand, are a special case." Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he thought up a proper way to explain the blond's difference. "You're eventually going to have supremacy over the five elements of nature, and this will allow you to perform _any_ elemental jutsu without hand seals."

"How does that work?" It was a confusing concept, Naruto knew, but he was determined to learn.

"Once you've gotten your supremacies, you can use it to imagine the jutsu that you're going to perform. You can shape and manipulate it, just like how you manipulated the earth to emerge as pillars, and how you manipulated the water to take the shape of a sphere." This received an understanding nod from the blond, which Jiraiya took as the cue to continue on. "Performing jutsu requires you to manipulate the shape and nature of the element. Hand seals are what turns normal fire and turns it into a fiery dragon, or taking your basic chakra and manipulating it into an element. Another form of nature manipulation is when you take Wind and Water and manipulating the two elements into the Ice element. With your supremacies, you can summon up any element by merely choosing the element, making it so that you no longer require nature manipulation in your hand seals, cutting the number down greatly. Because you can also manipulate the shape as well just by picturing it. Because both shape and nature manipulation are taken down, you no longer have the need to perform hand seals. Get it?"

One confused Uzumaki Naruto cocked his head, shaking it slightly, making Jiraiya face-vault onto the floor. All that time spent towards explaining, and he _didn't get it_. He was just about ready to smack the blond when his temporary apprentice spoke up.

"There's nothing to worry about though, ero-sennin," he said, having taken a liking to the nickname. "I memorized what you said, so I'll probably eventually understand everything later, when I'm older. Now, what do I do?"

"Punch that large stone that's two times my size in front of you... let's say, five-hundred times as fast as you can," he ordered, smirking devilishly. "Then, follow it up with five-hundred kicks for each leg."

"WHAT!?"

----

* * *

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Nine shadows stood in a large cavern, the only light in the great expanse coming from the chakra that was outlining their silhouettes. They were mysterious, their purpose unknown. They stood in silence, gazing at each other without emotion. None of their faces were readable from the utter darkness and from the use of a projection jutsu, only their eyes being visible. By raising a single chakra-outlined hand, one caught the attention of the eight others. He spoke, one who had eyes that seemed to be a mixture of orange and red. His voice was distorted, but it was deep and sinister. 

"We attack during the Chuunin Exam Finals."

These nine figures were a force to be reckoned with.

They were Akatsuki.

----

* * *

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Alright folks, I've been doing a lot of research, revolving around whether Katon means 'Fire Element' or 'Fire Release', and whether there is a difference between using ninja and shinobi. From what I've found out, ninja is a basic overall term, while shinobi is more specific towards the Naruto-show people. I've noticed that in the anime, they use both 'ninja' and 'shinobi' as a generalized term, and only using 'kunoichi' to refer to females. Many times, Team Seven has been referred to as 'Konoha Shinobi' in the anime. Thus, I'm going to assume from now on that ninja and kunoichi are plural, with ninja having no gender and kunoichi having a female gender, while shinobi is pluralized. As for whether or not Katon means 'Fire Release' or 'Fire Element', well, the ton at the end of ka is supposed to add a tone that makes it translate to 'Fire Element'. Yet, looking at it another way, ignoring the tone, ton literally means 'release', or 'to set free/ to release'. Considering that performing the hand seals for ninjutsu technically 'releases' the chakra in the form of the jutsu, I'm going to go with 'Fire Release' on this one. Yeah, this was one hell of a thing to research, but I think I've got it down. If you have any comments on these decisions, or know the answer to my problems, please PM me or E-mail me.

**Vocabulary**

_Jiriki_**Heikin** – _One's own strength and potential_ **Balance**

Gama Sennin – Toad Hermit. Thus, gama means toad and sennin means hermit.

Geta – Wooden sandals. Actually, they're more of flip-flops. Unlike sandals, they have no heel, are wooden, and have cloth thong attached to it. When you wear a geta, you put the thong in between your thumb toe and index toe. On the bottom, it's elevated with two horizontal pieces of wood. Perfect for staying out of the mud.

Ero-sennin – Perverted Hermit

Janken – Rock, Paper, Scissors!

Kyuubi no Youko – Nine-tailed Demon Fox

Sannin – Three Ninja

**Jutsu List**

Fuuin jutsu

**Gogyou Fuuin (Five Elements Seal)** – A-Rank – A seal that is used to strengthen another seal, the five elements that compose this seal are Metal, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water. Although it's supposed to strengthen a seal, the user must take care to place it over an odd-numbered seal like itself, so as not to create imbalances in the original seal.

**Gogyou Kaiin (Five Elements Unseal)** – A-Rank – This is merely the counter-jutsu for the Gogyou Fuuin. When performed, it unseals its counterpart.

Ninjutsu

_General_

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)** – B-Rank – Unlike the normal Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creates real flesh-and-blood copies of the user. They can fight, experience emotions, and perform jutsu just like the user. When using jutsu though, they have to use the store of chakra that was placed in them during creation. The amount of chakra in Kage Bunshin can be altered. Any information and mental experience that the Kage Bunshin experiences is also passed on to the user when they are killed or dispelled, which makes it particularly useful for missions involving reconnaissance and stealth.

**Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) –**D-Rank – This jutsu allows the user to move at high speeds, with an onlooker often mistaking it for teleportation. The user uses chakra to boost their speed and reflexes, the jutsu requiring more chakra as the distance that the user needs to travel increases. Any extra things, such as flying sand or leaves, serve as a distraction for the user's movement, and perhaps for a bit of style as well.

_Katon_

**Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast)** – B-Rank – The user emits a large stream of flame from their mouth, which takes the form of a dragon. The fire is extremely hot and very powerful, and is not unlike a flamethrower in its execution. On contact, the dragon dissipates into a ball of fire that envelops the enemy.

**Katon: Yurika no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Lily Technique) –**A-Rank – The user breathes in deeply, expanding their lungs to a normally impossible size with the assistance of chakra, and breathes out a great many fireballs. The fireballs themselves are the size of the ones emitted by Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, and are just as strong. In return for such power, a huge amount of chakra is used to perform this technique.


End file.
